Lady Marmalade: Sweet Sweet Revenge
by HarvestGirl10
Summary: Dawn wants Revenge on Paul, and Boy is he going to get it. The Perfect Opportunity comes when Leaf,Zoey,Misty,May,and Dawn enter the Talent show, can Dawn finally get that revenge?Mainly Ikarishipping/Contestshipping/Pokeshipping and minor ZoeyxKenny!
1. Chapter 1: Hey Sista

_Another _story inspired by a song! but the actual songfic won't be until later chapters, but don't worry, This story is not even planned to be long !

I think I'm getting obsessed with songfics, (sweat-drops), lol! Well this fic was inspired by the fact that I'm going to be in a talent show in my school, and I was like, what if Dawn May, Misty, and Leaf went into a talent show to impress the guys? So BAM! It's here! As you can see, this story contains IKARISHIPPING mainly, and also contestshipping, pokeshipping, and oldrivalshipping (only its going to be LeafxGary) Okay hope you enjoy _**Lady Marmalade: Sweet Sweet Revenge!**_

**I DO NOT OWN POKEMON, THE CHARACTERS, OR THE SONG 'LADY MARMALADE'. **

Song: Lady Marmalade

Performed By: Pink, Christina Aguilera, Mya, and Lil-Kim!

* * *

"_Now remember class, the Annual Talent show will be held next Friday, if you have any talent that you wish to share with the student body, please do sign up!" _The voice on the intercom encouraged, hoping that someone with at least a decent talent would sign up. "And_ remember everyone, NO FIRE!"_

The whole class snickered at the announcement. Supposedly, the talent show was actually a show were kids came to make fun of the pathetic losers who would even _attempt_ a talent.

Dawn Hikari was one of them.

The sixteen year old sighed as she remembered how much she embarrassed herself in front of the whole entire school. How everyone laughed at her, no matter how many panicking teachers told them to stop. The very memory would make her flush as red as a tomato.

--Flash Back--

"_Up next, Dawn Hikari!" The principal called as Dawn, dressed in a black leotard, pranced up on stage with a baton in hand. She looked out at the audience, and smiled. However, the smile faded when the bright spotlight centered itself right on her face, causing Dawn to shield her eyes. _

_Squinting, Dawn tried to make out her four best friends Misty, May, Leaf, and Zoey in the audience, a desperate attempt for reassurance. She found May with a camcorder, Leaf and Zoey holding up a huge sign saying ' Go Dawn!' and Misty just sitting there, with an expression saying ' Don't worry!'._

_Taking a deep breath, Dawn swayed to the music as the upbeat tune began to play. She danced and twirled, and to her astonishment, she was actually doing a fantastic job! _

_Her heart sped up as she caught a glimpse of her crush in the audience, Paul Shinji. As usual, he looked bored and completely annoyed that his friends Gary, Ash, and Drew dragged him to the show. He looked right at her, which caused Dawn to move even faster! The truth was…she actually entered the talent show to impress this very boy._

'_I have to impress him…I just have too!' Dawn's inner-self pleaded in her head as Dawn begun to dance even faster. Unfortunately, the blue-haired girl's affections towards the boy made her feet go too fast and nearly slipped on her feet, causing her body to fumble._

_Full of anxiety, Dawn cursed at herself as she heard her fellow classmates laugh at her but she kept on dancing. For a final attempt to impress Paul and as the climax of her act, she threw her baton up in the air and activated the ends to turn into huge red flames. _

'_Perfect!' Dawn rejoiced as she saw how wonderfully the move had been performed. She caught the baton and swirled it around, making the whole audience go "Ooohhh". Dawn giggled to herself and twirled around even faster, but her hands were getting sweaty from the heat. She ignored this, however, and kept dancing. _

_Big Mistake. _

_Dawn performed a combination of moves that involved her to switch the baton to her left hand, but as it did, Dawn threw it too hard, causing the flamed-baton to slip out of her sweaty hands and onto the flammable curtains. In other words, __**the whole stage burst into flames.**_

_Dawn screamed as she ran off the stage, mortified as she heard hilarious cries of laughter, teachers screaming at their students to leave the auditorium, and even remarks as "Dawn brought down the house, literally!" But the __Worst__ came as she escaped out front to the School's courtyard were firefighters frantically passed her and her friends._

"_Troublesome Girl." She overheard her crush say once she found him in the midst of the crowds._

"_I heard she done all that to impress you." Gary, a spiky haired teen, commented to the purple-headed boy._

"_Hmph. Pathetic. Like she honestly believed some retarded twirl act would impress me?" Paul commented, annoyed as hell. _

_Dawn gasped as tears dripped down her ash-stained face. She broke free of her friends' reassuring hugs, running somewhere even unknown to herself. _

"_Dawn!!" Leaf, Misty, May, and Zoey shouted after her, running after the poor blue-haired girl. _

'_H-He hates me! He doesn't even care if-if I was burned or not! I'm never going to be in the talent show again, __**EVER**__!!I HATE HIM! __**I-I HATE YOU PAUL SHINJI!**__' Dawn wept to herself, crying as her friends consoled her. _

* * *

Dawn felt a single tear gently land on her notebook, she was too careless to even wipe it. He was just like all her other crushes, they'd never return her feelings to matter how hard she tried to impress them. Not matter how hard she loved them. He would be just like all the others, she'd ignore them and pretend they never existed. And eventually, she would stop loving him soon enough.

But the thing was…she never had stopped loving him.

Dawn did not understand this at all. She swore to herself that she would forget him, move on, and live a Paul-free life. But she felt that with each glance she took, each time her heart skipped a beat when she heard his voice, every goddamn time he would even _look_ed her way, that she had betrayed herself, her heart, her entire vow.

She glanced over at Paul, who sat coolly at the front of the class, writing down his notes. Ever since the talent show, she had avoided him and it all worked for the best, right?

'_I mean, it's not like HE'S going to talk to me!' _Dawn thought furiously as she scribbled whatever the teacher was writing on the board into her notes.

"Woah, you okay Dawn? You're usually so calm and composed during Akiko-sensei's lectures. It's like your stressing over some guy…" One of her best friends, May, commented as she looked over Dawn's shoulder.

"_**EH ?!**_" Dawn screamed as she stood up from her chair, interrupting the whole lecture.

"Someone wrong, Miss Hikari?" Akiko-sensei commented as she put her hands on her hips, annoyed at someone would have the nerve to shout out during one of _her _lectures. Everyone, including Paul, looked her way.

"_C-C-Crap, He's staring at me!" _Dawn cursed to herself, she cursed at her heart, and she cursed at her stupid idiotic outburst.

"N-No! Sorry! Please continue!" Dawn frantically apologized, red in the face, as she returned to her seat. . Akiko gave her a confused look before returning to her chalkboard.

"_As if he didn't ALREADY think I'm a freak…" _Dawn muttered to herself as she hung her head low.

"Wow, something must be bugging you." May giggled as she poked Dawn's forehead with the eraser of her pencil. Dawn sighed as she looked at her notebook, bright pink in the face.

"It's just, around that time, you know?" She whispered, extra cautious to not get caught from Akiko-sensei, _again_.

"_Your period?_" May whispered in a low and confused voice, full aware of Dawn's privacy.

"_N-No! _I mean, around that time where- well you know, Talent… Show…" Dawn began, cutting the rest off hoping that would be enough to clue in her oblivious friend.

"Ohh…Oh!" May realized, "But that was a year ago! The auditorium is done being reconstructed and everything!"

"S-Still!" Dawn murmured, glancing over at Paul, who was too occupied on telling Ash, a boy with raven-spiky hair, to stop copying his notes.

"You're still in a slump over that? Dawn…" May began in a sympathetic tone, knowing how delicate the subject of _him _was.

Dawn nodded slightly, keeping her eyes on her notebook, not even willing to see the sad look on her friend's face.

"Well… the sleepover tonight at your house will definitely cheer you" May said in a happy tone, hoping to comfort Dawn.

"Mhmm!" Dawn happily agreed, wishing to laugh all of troubles away…

'_**YEAH,**__ Like that'll happen!' _Dawn shouted in her head as she took one final glance towards Paul.

_**

* * *

**__**DING-DONG **_

The doorbell rang as Dawn rushed down the steps. She opened the door out of breath and there stood Misty and Zoey, fully equipped with all the essentials that every slumber party needed to survive. Dawn guided them to the dining room to go over their things.

"Let's see, I got…" Misty trailed off as she dug into her huge cerulean blue duffle bag, "Popcorn, ice cream pints OF COURSE, candy, cell phone for you know, some pranking! And much much more!" She listed as she threw multiple items on the table. Zoey and Dawn sweat-dropped at Misty, who was pulling out every junk-food imaginable out of her bag, as if Misty had forgotten that Dawn had a fully stocked fridge.

"So, what did you bring?" Dawn asked Zoey, who had lifted her eyebrows at the remark.

"Just some few stuff, toothbrush and stuff." The other red head commented as she patted her small bag that was hanging over her shoulder.

"Ah, okay. Well…I guess we just have to wait until-" Dawn began but was cut off by the multiple rings of the doorbell.

"Leaf and May arrive." They all said in unison as they opened to door. There stood May and a bubbly Leaf.

"We got _a lot_ to do." May remarked in an evil grin, holding up her cell phone.

"Of course, May wants to get even with Drew." Misty laughed.

"Serves him right! _How Dare he do that in front of the whole class!_!" May declared as she pumped her fists in the air, flames burning in her eyes. Everyone besides May sweat-dropped at the memory.

--Flash Back--

_It was a typical day in Science class. The students were frantic to keep up with the quick and constant mutterings of their teacher, but not May, she decided __**long**__ ago to just pay close attention and just study the material that was in the book. She learned much more this way and she did exceptionally well in her grades as a result. _

_However, today was different because now everyone was working on their assigned worked, and May had finished early. She tapped her pen back and forth against her desk, finding some way to relieve herself of her boredom. _

"_Hey May, let me look at your notes." Drew said as he turned around from his seat, looking over her desk. Drew was one of the many handsome-heartthrobs that all the girls fawned over. They almost seemed to die over his lush-green hair and deep emerald eyes. Actually, if a girl wasn't worshipping Drew, then they'd flock to Paul, Gary, or Ash for that matter._

'_Gag.' May shuttered at the idea, Drew, as much to his disappointment, was the very type of guy she despised, Full of himself, so confident in his looks, and totally drop-dead __**gorgeous**_

"_Hell No!" May said in a harsh whisper, "You know I don't take much notes in Science Class!" _

_Drew mocked a fake puppy-dog pout, which caused May to sneer in his direction. He gave her a harsh and upset look before turning back to his desk. As soon as he did, May turned a deep red. How could she even consider liking that jerk?! Just because every time he looked at her, talked to her, and even pestering her about her notes even though HE KNOWS that she doesn't take much in the particular class makes her heart skip a beat! That doesn't mean she likes him! But then again…there was a special way he would talk to her, unlike all the fan girls… _

'_He's such an idiot….' May thought to herself as she took out a piece of paper and began to write on it. She wrote:_

_Hey idiot, _

_Please consider that fact that the jolly-green giant wants his shampoo back._

_Luvs ya! May_

_Ooh, that was good. A sweet insult to knock the heart-throb off his fan girl throne, even if it would only last a minute. And silently, May hoped to knock her stupid feelings for him off with it. She crumbled the note into a ball and chucked it at the boy's green-head. _

"_Ow! What the-" The boy silently cursed as he grabbed the paper-ball that hit his head. He looked at the note and raised an eyebrow at the brunette before muttering something along the terms of "How clever…idiot." _

_He then began to flip out a new piece of paper, take out a pink …pen? Then he began to write neatly and carefully along the lines. _

"_Ahem! Is that a note, Mr. Rosalind?" The annoyed teacher shouted as he tapped his foot to the ground. _

_Drew at first was frightened, this caused May to smile victoriously. _

_Her plan had worked._

_Drew looked back and May, then it was his turned to smirk. He_

_took the note he was writing and sweetly said, "Yes sir, would you like to hear it?" _

_May almost burst out into hysterics, this was too funny! First she got Drew in trouble, now he's going to embarrass himself in front of the whole class?! Drew stood up from his seat, flicked his hair, and held the note in front of him, ready to read. _

_May then all of a sudden broke her giggle-fit and stared at Drew. Something was up. This was not good!_

"_Dear Drew__," Drew began in a mock girl voice, causing all the students, except May, to burst into laughter. _

"_In case you haven't noticed, which I pray that you've have, I been secretly been dying to run my fingers through your lovely hair, and make you my play toy. Oh boy and yes, I have noticed your rock-hard abs under that white uniform shirt of yours and I just wait for the day you throw it off and grab me hard in your strong grip. I imagine at night that you're my body pillow and well ahem let your mind run wild. Waiting forever by my window,_

_May_

_May's jaw dropped her face the deepest crimson you can imagine. That wasn't her note! Everyone burst into laughter, the guys giving her suggestive stares and all the girls sending her death-glares._

"_Oh Sweet May, I'm so flattered." Drew said in a mock tone as May gave him the BIGGEST DEATH GLARE YOU COULD IMAGINE. "But I'm so sorry, I –sigh- just don't like you that way." _

"_**WHY YOU**__-" May began as she rose from her seat but the teacher abruptly shouted at her, "ENOUGH MISS MAPLE! HOW DARE YOU INTERUPT MY CLASS WITH THIS 'NOTE-PASSING' AND HOW DARE YOU WRITE SOMETHING SO SUGGESTIVE TO A FELLOW STUDENT?!" _

"_B-B-But It's not-!" May began but was caught off again._

"_DENTENTION FOR YOU MAY MAPLE!" _

_May sat back in her seat, ashamed and red in the face. After everything settled down, Drew turned around and smirked at May. _

"_Damn, your body pillow must have a real workout." He smirked as he flicked his hair. He dangled the note in front of her, and horror came to her eyes. He had exactly copied her handwriting! Right down to the pink pen she would normally have used!_

_May, with nothing else to do, just sat their, FURIOUS. She fumed, her teeth clenched, her face red, and only one thing ran through her mind. _

"_**DREW, YOUR GOING TO WISH THAT NOTE WAS TRUE ONCE I GET DONE WITH YOU! YOU'RE SOOO GOING TO REGRET IT!" **_

* * *

"Honey maybe it was so easy for Drew to write that note because he's been thinking about the same for you…" Leaf trailed off suggestively, causing May to blush a deep red.

The girls had been led the Dawn's room to get settled, where Dawn fully decked it out with huge pillows, blankets, TV set, and of course who could forget, _**THE CHOCOLATE**_. While May ranted about how cruel Drew was, they all got into their Pajamas. Leaf wore a light green tank top, with a darker green pair of pajamas bottoms, yellowish green vertical striped running down the bottom.

Misty tugged at her cerulean tee and brushed off the popcorn that was spilled on her blue short-shorts.

Zoey came out in an orange night-shirt with red khaki- like pajamas buttons, she was never the type to really show off the figure she really had.

May came out in a small red tank with white pajama shorts that had cherries imprinted across, however, she still wore her red bandana.

"Drum-roll Please!" Dawn cried from her bathroom as the four girls pattered against the hard wooden floor. Leaf began to beet-box a runway tune while Dawn pranced out in a pink mini-slip. Of course, Dawn slipped on a silk white robe so it wouldn't be _as_ revealing as it really was.

"Hello Hottie!" Misty joked as Dawn sat in an oversized pink pillow. Dawn giggled at the remark.

"Damn girl, _that_ could be your revenge on Paul." Zoey commented as she pointed at Dawn's curves. Everyone laughed as they agreed.

Dawn giggled at the idea of wearing lingerie to school and coolly walking by Paul, not even giving him a glance.

"We could take a quick pic now and send it to him…" May suggested with a sly grin as she held up her camera-phone.

"NO!" Dawn quickly screamed as she blushed many shades crimson, snatching the phone away from May. This caused the whole room to go into giggles.

"C'mon May, you know how that could turn out, Paul would then get it for free! That would be more of a treat then revenge." Zoey implied as she took the phone out of Dawn's hands, snapped it closed, and set it down on the floor between the popcorn and chocolate.

"Your soo right, he has to see it, now he can't have it, and then regret it!" Leaf declared as she pumped her fists in the air. Everyone just laughed at their silly friend's remarks.

"But it'd be sooo sweet to give him REVENGE!" Dawn declared, oh how she wanted revenge. Revenge for all the times he ignored her, sneered at her, calling her so worthless…

The whole hour consisted of things of the such, Dawn smiled as she saw May stick buneary ears, unaware to Leaf, on top of her head and make a screw-ball face with her tongue. Misty dug into her first pint early, and Zoey went through all of Dawn's DVDs, looking for a suitable movie. Dawn laughed at the scene. That's how the five were; always teasing each other, acting silly, and always sticking up for each other.

Just like Soul Sisters.

* * *

"**Jack…there's a…boat….Jack…a boat!...Jack?" **The actress cried on TV, her words stuttering from the bitter cold.

"_No!! Why?!_" Leaf cried as pulled a pillow over her head. "Why did Jack have to die, why not the evil Cal?!"

"And after he said to never let go! Awwwwe!" Misty complained as she took the movie out of the DVD player, the sad movie was too tough to watch for any of them.

"I can't stand watching the ending of the movie!" Dawn cried as she grabbed a pint from Misty and began to dig into it. "But it's too emotional not too!"

"I totally agree, when she had to break free of his hands from the ice to let him float down to the sea!" May cried as she threw the movie into the popcorn bowl. Everyone laughed at the scene.

"Guys, do you think it's time to tell Dawn?" Zoey began as she pulled a piece of paper from her small bag.

"Uh-huh." They all said in unison as Dawn looked at them confused.

"W-What are you guys talking about?" She asked, nervous.

Zoey handed Dawn the paper and Dawn scanned over it, her eyes widen as she read it more carefully.

"_YOU ENTERED US IN THE TALENT SHOW?!_" She screamed as she came in realization.

Dawn looked at the four nervously as they all gave her a sly look. The words that escaped from Leaf' mouth made her heart skip:

"Girl, it's time for that _**REVENGE.**_"

* * *

Ooh, Revenge! I'm so sorry for not making this into a songfic oneshot but I kinda actually wanted to make this story detailed and if I put it all in one go then it would be way to long! I'm so nervous! My Talent Show is tomorrow and I hope I don't mess up! Please wish me luck! Please Review and Until Next Time!


	2. Chapter 2: Go Sista

Chapter 2!! Yay!!

May: Yay!!

Me: I'm so glad my talent show is over, and I'm glad I did really well!

May: Really? What did you do?

Me: Ummm, like a dance routine but people said it was a little suggestive but oh well! _Just wait_ until I write yours!

May: Ehh….Okay let's get this over with! _**HARVESTGIRL10 DOES NOT OWN POKEMON, ITS CHARACTERS, OR THE SONG 'LADY MARMALADE'. **_

Me: Woah…I didn't even ask….

May: Yeah well, on with the story!

* * *

"_**R-R-Revenge?!**_" Dawn stuttered as she held the signup sheet in her trembling hands.

"Mhm, Dawn you said you wanted to give Paul revenge for being a jerk." Misty implied, browsing through a stack of CDs in that she brought over, looking for a particular one.

"B-But! That was only talk! I can't go back on the stage, not after _last time!_" Dawn cried, completely flushed on remembering the incident.

Leaf sighed as she swiftly snatched the paper out of the blue-haired girl's hands and looked it over. A smirk came to her face as she read the fine lines.

"Dawn, we already signed everyone up and we can't just drop out, that'd be foolish. Besides you're the lead." She mentioned as she handed the paper back to Dawn, whose jaw dropped when she heard that _she _would be leading.

"THERE'S NO WAY IN HELL I'M GOING UP THERE!" She finally screamed, causing a few neighborhood lights to turn on. Dawn saw this and threw her hand on top of her mouth, embarrassed.

"Pleaassseeeee Dawn," May, as well as everyone else, gave her the infamous puppy-eyes and pout. Dawn sweat-dropped at the move, her friends were dead serious. "We're all doing it, so you won't be totally alone!"

"_R-Really_?" Dawn asked surprised as she looked over the paper once more. Each time she read it, it didn't seem so bad. After all, it's not like Paul will ever have feelings for her and even if she embarrasses herself, then she could at least say she tried….

"B-But what about Zoey?" Dawn mentioned as she looked over the red-haired teen, who sat on a huge cushion, looking more calm and serious then the rest.

"Kinda…but I'm not going to be in too much-"

"WHAT! Y-You said that everyone would be in it…." Dawn finally hesitated, suddenly becoming unsure or her decision.

"Dawn, think a little! Everyone but Zoey needs revenge and she is actually helping you! If it wasn't this serious, she wouldn't have even considered it!_ She _was the one who came up with the idea!" Misty bargained, glancing over at Zoey, who nodded at the remark.

Dawn's heart skipped a beat. Suddenly, two choices lay before her. She could A. Decline the offer quickly and live the rest of her high school life in peace, avoiding Paul Shinji at all costs.

Or B. Do the Talent Show, risk the chance of embarrassing herself again, but also the chance of prevailing and getting back at Paul for all he has done. To finally show him that she wasn't so annoying, she wasn't the idiotic girl he had known, and that behind her shy exterior, was a bitch who wanted revenge.

Revenge.

'_Troublesome Girl.'_ Paul's word's echoed in Dawn's mind.

_**Revenge**_

'_Hmph. Pathetic .Like she honestly believed that some retarded twirl act would impress me?' _His voice echoed, only this time louder.

_**REVENGE. **_

"_Seriously Dawn, do your really consider us friends?! Just leave me alone!" _Those painful words that Dawn ever had to endure once again echoed through her minder, but only this time the loudest of them all.

_**REVENGE!!**_

Each time Dawn repeated the word, her confidence boosted and the desire to put Paul in his place took over. This time, HE would be the one who would want to impress her, HE would be the one fawning over her every move, and SHE will be the one who would harshly decline his offer and walk away, putting him in complete misery. Just like he had done to her…

"I'M IN!" Dawn suddenly declared, slamming the paper down in the middle of the scattered mess of popcorn and candy. Everyone else gave her approving looks, and Misty finally after a long search, pulled a CD out of the pile and placed it into a stereo.

"Good for you Dawn! Now, let's see …what track was it?" Misty congratulated, keeping her eyes on the stereo, however.

"And don't worry Dawn! You're the not the only one using this for revenge!" May emphasized as she patted Dawn's shoulder, fully approving of her blue-haired friend's actions.

"Yeah, me too!" Leaf chimed in, raising her hand in the air.

"Huh? What did Gary do to _you, _Leaf?" Zoey asked, raising an eyebrow. Everyone else suddenly dropped what they were doing; Leaf never mentioned anything about Gary. In fact, she was probably the only one, besides Zoey, who would never bash about him which was odd because she certainly seemed the type.

Leaf looked down, her face a bright red. "W-W-Well, you see, it was during school, in the hallway…"

--Flash Back--

_Leaf walked down the hallway like any other day, but today was Friday so she walked with a little more oomph, excited to get the heck out of the torture chamber aka __school_

_As usual, the halls were filled with students getting to their lockers and such, so Leaf had to weave her way through. As she thought she had finally made it through into the clearing, she smacked right into Gary, causing both of them to fall to the ground, with Leaf on top of him._

"_Wow, someone's a little excited this morning." Gary smirked as the surrounding students circled around them, snickering._

"_Eh…"Was all Leaf could say, she was just like a deer in the headlights, she was too embarrassed to move. With a face beat red, she meagerly got up off of Gary but she got up __**over**__ his head. _

"_Wait a minute…I didn't just-SHIT!" Leaf cursed at herself as she realized what she had just done._

_Leaf looked back in horror as she looked down at her blue uniform skirt. Well, of course, you would see nothing wrong with it but here was the thing, she had worn her SHORTEST skirt she could find today! Leaf was terrified as she saw Gary get up, red in the face. _

'_Damn it!' Leaf literally screamed in her head._

_She began to retrace her steps in her mind, horrified. She picked herself up off of Gary, walked over his head, and- _

"_YOU DID NOT JUST SEE-!" Leaf screamed out. _

"_Ha. I JUST DID." Gary coolly walked past Leaf, a smirk on his face. "By the way, nice red lace panties! Does your mother know you wear those?" He added, slapping her butt as he walked away. _

_As Gary was about a few feet away, Leaf screamed out _

"_**PERVERT!!SEXUAL ASSUALT! SEXUAL ASSAULT! "**__ Leaf screamed back at Gary, flailing her arms._

_Sadly, everyone just gave her a queer look and walked away, all thinking that Leaf had just lost her mind._

_Leaf trembled a sigh as she, and her short skirt, marched out of the building while cursing in her head: _

'_REVENGE! __**REVENGE!!**_ _I HONESTLY DON'T KNOW HOW DAWN DOES THIS EVERYDAY!"_

* * *

Leaf sat there, mortified as she told the story.

"Poor thing…" Zoey consoled as she placed an arm around her shoulder.

"I still can't believe why I thought it was a good idea to wear my red-laced panties with my short skirt!" Leaf wailed as she dug into one of Misty's ice cream pints.

"Well, here's the perfect revenge. Just like you said Leaf…They have to know you have it and know that they can't have it!" Misty proclaimed as she pushed the play button on the stereo. A Catchy tune began to play. As soon as it played, Leaf's ears perked up and an excited look spread across her face, as well with Misty and May.

"The _perrfeccttt_ revenge." May purred ash she nuzzled into a huge pillow just like a cat.

It took Dawn longer to come into realization but as soon as the lyrics began to play, her face turned a deep red.

"_**WE'RE GOING TO SING THIS SONG?!" **_She shouted once again, her face red. Dawn knew this song, she knew it very well and she knew what the song meant! _Especially_ the French Words!

All the girls gave her a nod, which caused Dawn to turn redder! She couldn't do this song, especially in front of Paul! It'd be worse cause then if she messed up she'd look pathetic _and_ desperate!

"W-we can't!" She finally stammered as she hid in her head behind her pillow.

"Dawn! This is perfect! We show the guys we got it and -"

"_Know…they…can't have…it." _Dawn murmured under her breath in a barely audible tone as she finished May's sentence.

"What's that? We can't hear you!" May encouraged, holding a hand to her ear.

"THEY HAVE TO KNOW WE HAVE IT AND KNOW THEY CAN'T HAVE IT!" Dawn finally bellowed flushed in the face, which caused more lights to go on. This caused all the girls to giggle.

"Exactly." Misty agreed, "Now you can finally show off you singing ability, curves, _and_ your confidence."

"Yeah…WAIT! _Singing?! __**CURVES?!" **_Dawn once again, yelled, completely red. Everyone let out a huge sigh as she did so; this was going to be a long night.

* * *

"Huh? Odd…" Misty said as she began typing on Dawn's pink laptop.

"What is it Mist?" Dawn asked cheerily as she ducked a pillow that May chucked at her. The girls decided to have one huge pillow fight, and Misty who learned from experience, decided to sit this one out and go on the internet instead.

"Ash just IMed me! But that's so weird! It's like 2:00am!" Misty replied with a confused look on her face.

"What! No Way!" Leaf exclaimed as she pounced on Dawn's pink comforter next to Misty, everyone else soon followed, their eyes glued to the laptop's monitor. The following convo appeared.

AshieBoy: Yooo Mist!

WaterChick589: Hi, Ash? Isn't it like 2:00am?

AshieBoy: And?

"I don't buy it. Ash is the laziest person on earth; he would never be up this late." Zoey figured as she knew Ash, she was the one who had to put up with his snoring in French Class after all.

Ash began typing again and another IM came up.

AshieBoy: So, why are YOU up?

WaterChick589: Um, sorta at a sleepover. Duh.

"Ooh, this is so much fun! Here, give me the computer!" May squealed as Misty handed her the laptop. May prompted it on her lap while everyone looked over her shoulder. May began to converse with Ash, pretending that she was Misty. Dawn let a huge sigh before getting off the bed and going into her bathroom.

"Something wrong, Dawn?" Everyone asked in unison as they saw Dawn approach the bathroom.

"I got to change my pajamas; apparently this one has a huge hot chocolate stain I just noticed." Dawn complained as she showed off the huge brown stain on her pretty pink gown, everyone frowned.

"Aw, and you looked so pretty too!" Misty sympathized as Dawn hung her head in agreement. She marched right into the bathroom and closed the door behind her.

Everyone turned their attention back to the convo.

AshieBoy: Hey, let's put up a webcam!

Waterchick589 (May): Why?! OMG you're so perverted. I swear, just like Drew!

AshieBoy: May?

"Crap!" May screamed as Leaf and Misty giggled. Zoey just rolled her eyes. May then decided to play it cool and replied:

WaterChick589 (May): Nooooo, Misty.

AshieBoy: Nope, def. May. Misty never talks about Drew and how perverted he is.

WaterChick589 (May): Damn!

_AshieBoy wants to connect with you for webcam. _

"Well, there's no harm. It's only Ash right? And it's not like we're naked or anything." Leaf giggled as she placed the webcam on top of the laptop.

_WaterChick589 has accepted your request for webcam. _

A screen popped up on the laptop, showing Ash there, laughing.

"Hey, guys! This webcam is so much fun!" He cheered, since the boy probably never used webcam to chat before, he found it quite amusing.

"Yeah…sure…" Zoey rolled her eyes once again, and then moved the webcam around to display everyone.

"Woah! Is that Dawn's room?! It's so pink!" Ash asked amazed, everyone simply nodded. Then there was a large smack against his head, causing Ash to linger in pain.

"Seriously, you're such an idiot." A voice off-screen insulted Ash, who Ash returned with a glare.

"Eh? Is there others with you?" Leaf asked as she pointed her finger at the screen.

Ash picked up his webcam and displayed it around the room, showing Gary, Drew, and Paul just sitting there! Ash adjusted the cam to keep it on all four of the guys while May did the same by adjusting it so the whole room was displayed_, even the bathroom door._

"Awe, how cute! A boys-only sleepover!" Misty teased, causing everyone, except the guys, to laugh. This caused May to fall over the floor, from complete hysterics while shouting "Cute! Cute! Cute!"

"It's not a sleepover, idiot! We were practicing." Drew said as he took control of the screen, he flicked his hair in the process.

"For what?!" May snapped as she appeared in front of the screen.

"The Talent Show, what else? We're going to kick ass-" Drew paused as he looked at May; his eyes looked at her mischievously as he flicked his hair.

"What now?! You little piece of green crap!" May roared at the screen.

"Oh, I just noticed that you don't have your body pillow with you tonight! Kicking the habit?"

"_**WHY YOU LITTLE-!"**_ May bellowed as she tried to attack the screen, Leaf, Zoey, and Misty had to restrain her back.

Drew responded by smirking and flicking his hair once more.

"Like I was saying, our band is going to play in the Talent Show." He declared in complete confidence. At this point, May began to calm down and now her huge temper was now at a violent simmer.

"You guys have a band? Well, we're-" Leaf, being her oblivious self, almost spilled but just in time, Zoey covered her mouth.

"_They can't know, you idiot!_" Misty whispered harshly to the long-haired brunette, who muffled her words through Zoey's grasp.

"_Oh…Right…_" Leaf replied with a weak response as Zoey let go.

"Wait a minute, if this is at Dawn's house, where's Dawn?" Gary asked as he looked at the four girls, Paul just sat there, emotionless and annoyed.

"Oh um-" May began but, as if on cue, Dawn waltz in the room, but only wearing a tiny pink tank and her white undies. Completely oblivious to the webcam and that _Paul_ was watching.

"D-Dawn!" They all cried but Dawn just ignored them.

"I'm so dumb! I can't believe I forgot to bring my pants!" She complained as she slipped on her pink sweatpants, she turned her attention to her friends, who both gave off a shocked look and as well a sympathetic look for their friend.

"What?" Dawn asked as she tilted her friends, who gave her a

_Run-Now! _Look.

"Well, I guess that's solved." Gary smirked.

"_**G-GARY?! WHAT THE HELL!**_" Dawn screamed as she ran to the laptop, only to see Ash, Drew, and Gary with extremely red faces. Dawn let a huge scream in humiliation and then it all just got worse. She then saw Paul sitting in the corner, with an angry expression on his face but he did his best to conceal it.

"WHY DIDN'T YOU GUYS TEL ME?!" Dawn yelled as her fellow friend covered their ears.

"W-We tried…" May whimpered. Dawn looked at the computer screen again, hoping that it would just disappear.

"Well, I don't think any of us want to see that again. Bye." Paul said in a disgusted tone as he cancelled off the session. Leaf meekly turned off the laptop.

"Dawn?" Zoey sympathized with her friend, whose head drooped down, sulking.

Meanwhile Dawn was crying, tears dripping off onto her pink bed.

'_**Well, I don't think any of us want to see that again'**_

'_H-How could he be so mean? He's acting like we were never _

_frien--No Dawn! You promised to never think of those times, never!' _

Dawn ran back to the bathroom, crying so hard. Misty ran in with her, hoping to console her poor blue-haired friend.

"D-Dawn?" She asked, hoping to help her friend in need, this scene was way too familiar with all of them by now. Everyone else ran in, all aiding Dawn.

"I…want that revenge…_**I WANT IT SO BADLY!" **_Dawn finally screamed in her tears, it was just so hard. Why did it have to be this hard?! And now, Paul Shinji is going to regret everything he's down to her, every time he made her cry her heart out.

Dawn helped herself up off the toilet seat she was sitting on and looked in the mirror, only to find herself with a tear-stained face.

She looked at it long and hard, it didn't make sense, not at all.

"Why…." Dawn cried once more as her friends all consoled her.

"WHY THE HELL AM I STILL IN LOVE WITH _HIM_?!" She finally cried, her knees falling to the floor.

'_And after all he has down_…'

* * *

Phew! That took longer than I expected! In case you were all wondering I'm going to quickly finish up this story then finish up A Precious Bond! But don't worry, that story is long from over! Please review and I'll see you next chapter!


	3. Chapter 3: Soul Sista

It's time for chapter 3! I'm very glad that everyone likes this story, and the reviews make me so happy!! So, I bet your all wondering when I'm going to get to the actual songfic but don't worry! Either next chapter or the one after it definitely! Hope you enjoy it!!

**HARVESTGIRL10 DOES NOT OWN POKEMON, ITS CHARACTERS, OR THE SONG 'LADY MARMALADE'!**

Now, on with the story!!

* * *

"Just like that Dawn! Like, just like that!" Daisy cried as Dawn performed a series of suggestive moves to an upbeat yet suggestive song. With every bend and turn, Dawn saw her revenge suddenly becoming alive.

"And like, don't be afraid to shake what your mother gave you! Use what Mother Nature gave you before Father Time takes it away!" Violet shouted towards the girls as they danced, who all sweat-dropped at the statement.

Misty had confined to her three older sisters that she was going to be in the Talent Show with her friends, and of course, since the valley girl trio where in show business, they happily agreed to choreograph. And when they heard that it was for revenge on the boys, they went all out! Now they were currently practice at their sister's dance studio, which was really HUGE!

"Alright! It's like, time for a break!" Lily announced as she clapped her hands together. The four girls up on stage nearly collapsed from their positions and each fell into a chair.

"Why is revenge so _painful_?!" Dawn cried as she took a sip from her water bottle. Of course, being the lead in the act, Dawn had the most work. She was fully dressed in dance practice attire, a light blue tank and grey sweat-pants with the imprint of the words _Flirty_ running down her left leg. Pulling her hair out of her high ponytail, Dawn was quick to splash some cool water on her sweaty forehead.

"It'll get better Dawn! Just imagine Paul's face when you appear on stage!" Leaf shouted giddily as she got up to prance around in her light green tank and white shorts. May, Misty, and Dawn look at her in astonishment on how she still had so much energy! Even after 5 hours of dancing and singing! They all sighed; of course, it was typical behavior for the bubbly Leaf.

"Buck up, it doesn't look that hard…" Zoey said as she approached the girls, unlike the rest, Zoey's part was _really_ minor to the performance, so everyone just glared at her.

"What? I don't need the revenge." She laughed as she plopped down on the floor, taking a sip of her own water. Zoey, however, helped Violet, Lily, and Daisy with everything else such as outfits, props, and chorography.

"Well, I know my revenge is going to be sweet!" May declared as she pumped her fist in the air, a victorious grin spread across her face. Of course, being May, she wore plenty or red. She wore a small white and red striped tank and red capris. She also had her hair tied back in her signature red bandana.

"Yeah May! You go make Drew squirm!" Misty cheered as she slapped May with a high-five. Misty, who sported a yellow tank and blue sweatpants, also wanted revenge, but it wasn't a jerk revenge like the others but more of an _I'm-going-to-make-you-notice _me revenge. Her very heart sank at the memory.

_Misty sat on her couch while Ash kept struggling with his math. She couldn't help stare; he was so cute when he looked frustrated! _

"_So, how does this work?" He asked in frustration as he tried to figure out the compass. Misty sighed dreamily in her head,_

'_He's so clueless it's cute! C'mon Mist, be bold and make that move already!' _

_She placed her shaking hands over his and gently glided the tool swiftly across the paper. Just contact was enough for her face to turn deep red! She shyly looked up at Ash, but instead of a crimson face as well, he just sat there like nothing was wrong!_

'_Idiot!' Misty cursed at him in her mind, wishing that she had her mallet with her but sadly, it finally snapped in half after a good-term of Ash-smacking. _

"_S-See?" Misty explained as she let go of his hands, she missed the warmth of his hands so badly. Ash then smiled, but not at her, but at the problem on how it was finally solved. God, he was so oblivious! _

'_Well…I guess I'll have to be less subtle…' May thought with dismay. Even though she was confident most of the time, but when it came to Ash, that's a completely different story._

_After a good five minutes of silence and Ash's frequent questioning, Misty finally couldn't take it anymore! She stood up from the couch and looked at Ash right in the eye, her heart beating fast and her face bight pink. _

"_A-A-Ash!" She stuttered as she looked him right in the eye._

"_Yeah Mist?" Ash asked, completely confused on what was going on. Misty mentally smacked him for being so dense._

"_I-I think we should go out!" She finally screamed, causing Ash to fall off the couch from the huge outburst._

"_Is that all? Alright Misty!" Ash said happily as got to his feet and took Misty's hand, leading her to the door. Misty's face turned even redder as he led her, her heart at an __**extremely **__fast pace. _

"_I-It worked! Ash and I are finally dating!" Misty squealed with delight as she savored the moment, the warmth of his hand, and just the very presence of the raven-haired boy._

_Once they were outside, Ash smiled at her and then said:_

"_Okay, let's go back inside now! We have to tackle that next problem with that compass thingy." _

"_What?" Misty asked, confused on what was going on. Weren't they going to go out, as in, ON A DATE? _

"_Huh? You said you wanted to go out…" Misty began confused. _

"_And here we are, outside!" He happily cheered densely as if Misty was mentally challenged, the poor girl's jaw dropped. _

"_FREAKING IDIOT!" Misty screamed as she pounded her fists against his head extremely __**HARD**_

"_Ow! What did I do?!" Ash cried in pain. Misty ignored this, however, and kept beating the dense boy. Oh how she wished she had her mallet but noooooo, it broke! _

'_YOUR GOING TO WISH YOU NOTICED ME!' Misty kept swearing in her head as she kept pounding Ash, how desperately she wanted __revenge_

* * *

"Leave it to Ash to be completely dense." May teased as she took a bite out of a granola bar.

"Well, you could have been more specific like 'Let's go out on a date!'" Leaf said in her cheery voice as she jumped up and down, an energy bottle in her hands.

"Um, Leaf? How many of those energy drinks did you have?" Dawn asked as she sweat-dropped at her green friend. Everyone else looked at her, asking the same thing.

"Um, about five? Why?" Leaf answered as she put a finger to her lips confused, oblivious to how hyper she was. All her friends sweat-dropped once again at her, mentally smacking Leaf for being so idiotic.

Dawn couldn't help but giggle at her friend's actions. She also couldn't help but take account on everyone's attitude towards this whole entire scheme. They all had such confidence, so sure that this was going to work. Sadly, she didn't feel quite as confident.

'_What if this solves nothing? What if, Paul won't even care and he makes fun of me again! No! I could just see things going all downhill from their…'_

"Like Alright! Leaf, Misty, May, and Dawn! Line up!" Daisy ordered as the said girls lined up across the small stage while Violet walked passed them, with a judging look on her face. Dawn sweat-dropped, perhaps Misty's sisters were going overboard after all. They all gave a pleading look to Zoey but she just shrugged, the redhead trying her best to maintain herself from laughing.

"Now, picture this!" Daisy said in her best director's impersonation voice as she motioned her fingers into a camera angle. "You four lovely ladies are the vision of every man's fantasy! Travel back into an era of high society and arranged marriages, you are the ones who bring the pleasure and true happiness to all the men!" Daisy continued as she walked past each girl, hoping to make it clear enough for them.

"Well, for a _fair price._" She added with a giggle.

"Leaf!" The blonde-valley girl pointed to the bubbly brunette who perked up at her name. "As a newcomer to the biz, you are the boy-teaser who the men flock to with your innocent and childish charm!"

Leaf squealed as she was assigned with her "role". Dawn couldn't help but giggle, if Leaf really _was _an 'entertainer' back in the old days, that's _exactly_ the kind she'd be.

"Um, Daisy? What is the point for these roles?" Misty asked as she poked her head out of the straight line towards her sister.

"To get into character little sis! Like, it won't be entertaining at all if you're not your character? Right? The audience should believe and so should you!" Her sister commented, placing her sister back in line.

"Next, May!" May looked up excited, waiting to see what 'role' she would play. Daisy looked her up and down and a sparkle shone in her eye, a sign of inspiration. "You girl, are the very idea of pleasure! You give what the men want but yet you make sure_ you're_ in control, which would keep your clients wanting more! May, the strong rebel!"

"Awesomeness!" May cheered as she pumped her fists in the air once again.

"That'll show Drew a thing or two!"

"Uh May, you know that these roles aren't real right? It's just for character." Dawn pointed out, causing May to give out a sulk. As Daisy approached Misty, Misty sweat-dropped.

"Let me guess…" Misty began but was cut off by her sister.

"Misty darling! You are the mother of the house, the one who keeps her girls in line! Men adore you and most want you! But yet you turn your head away from it all, which causes them to flock to your very feet! Diamonds, jewels, and high quality silks dress adorn your very back!"

"Woah okay, that's kinda cool…" Misty said in a surprised tone, a little taken back by her role. She suspected that she'd get some slutty role but hers was sorta classy in a sense.

"And finally, the lovely Dawn," Daisy began as she approached the blue-haired girl. Dawn's heart-beat fastened as multiple thoughts ran through her mind.

'_Oh God! I could only imagine what 'role' I'll be assigned! Being the lead, I'd probably get the most suggestive and most sexual' _Dawn squirmed as her face turned a deep red. Daisy placed her finger under Dawn's chin and lifted it up; making the sure she had eye contact with her.

"You dearest, are the very jewel and treasure of the house! You're the woman who every man wants company with! And your fares are too expensive for even the richest man in town! All men want you, and all women want to be you. You are the sole reason why the Moulin Rouge exists!"

"Wow Dawn! That's like the best out of them all!" Leaf congratulated as she hugged Dawn. Dawn stood still, still awe struck from her role.

"-Sigh- Aren't I good?" Daisy fawned over herself as Lily and Violet all agreed with the same day-dream expressions.

'_H-How can I perform as someone with so much confidence?' _Dawn thought, completely unsure of what she has gotten herself into.

"Well, don't forget guys! Tomorrow is like, another practice! So make sure to leave school right away!" Violet pointed out as all the girls nodded, well, all of them except Dawn.

"Wait, tomorrow's Monday?! I-I'm not going!" Dawn flushed as she snapped back into reality, obviously thinking of the past incident that occurred at her house.

"C'mon Dawn! It'll look even worse if you _don't_ show!" Zoey pointed out, which made Dawn sulk even more.

"Hey don't worry, we all have your back." Misty said as she placed her hand reassuringly on the blue-haired girl's back. Dawn looked from her sulking to see everyone else did the same with smiling faces.

They all gave Dawn an expecting look and Dawn gave out a sigh.

"Okay…but only if we're all in this together! All right?" Dawn made sure as she looked at all of them, who all gave her a huge smile in return.

"Then let's do this!" May cheered as she pulled everyone into a huge group hug.

Oh, how Sweet Revenge is in the air.

* * *

The following morning was tough for Dawn. Normally she would have woken up early but since she came home late last night from rehearsal, she completely forgot to set her alarm! After she threw on her blue uniform skirt and white blouse, she rummaged through her vanity for her signature yellow clips. As she went through all the junk that usually consisted of head accessories, hair care products, picture frames, and just plain trash, something sparkling caught her eye. The very sight of the object made her eyes widen.

'_N-No, that can't be…' _Dawn thought as she picked up the shiny object. In her trembling hands she held the most beautiful necklace you have ever seen. It was a small sliver chain that fit tightly around the neck, and in the center of that chain was a bright silver heart with a pink crystal diamond in the middle. The very sight made Dawn's heart skip a beat.

"I-I …thought… I got rid of this years ago…." Dawn thought to herself aloud. Then girl quickly looked at the alarm clock and back at the necklace. Now was not that time to travel down memory lane! Dawn, unaware of her actions, threw it into her schoolbag as she rushed out the door. As she rushed to school, Dawn felt tears suddenly drift down her cheeks.

Whether they were tears of happiness or tears of sadness, Dawn didn't know…

* * *

"Oh my God! Who could do something so cruel to my beloved?!" Multiple fan girls shouted as they surrounded Drew, Gary, Ash, and Paul.

"Drew's face! Even though it's bruised, it's still undeniably sexy!" One girl shouted among the rest.

"Is Paul going to be able to play guitar?!" Some girls cried in fear.

"What is going on?" Dawn asked as she and her friends stopped by the intense scene in front of the school yard.

"Hmm, let me check it out." Leaf said as stood on her tip-toes, hoping to get a good view. She looked over the many fan girls and then the girl went into complete hysterics.

"Oh. My. GOD. HAHAHAHAHA!" Leaf cried as she regrouped with Dawn, Misty, Zoey, and May, who all just gave her a quizzical expression.

"What?" They all simply asked in unison.

Just then, Akiko-sensei marched up to the huge mob with her blow-horn and shouted "_**GIRLS! And some boys….PLEASE CONTROL YOUR HORMONES AND GIVE THEM SOME SPACE!"**_

As the mob sulked there way out of the mob, Dawn finally realized why everyone was making such a huge fit! Drew's face, Ash's face, and Gary's face each had a stunning black eye! This caused May, Zoey, Misty, and Dawn to join Leaf in complete hysterics!

"Oh my god, are you serious?!" May managed to say through her laughter. Drew gave her an annoyed look towards her direction.

"Ha! What happened?" Misty asked Ash, who gave a scared look towards Paul. Paul, unlike the others, did not have a black eye but his left hand was wrapped with white bandages. As usual, he wore the usual annoyed look on his face.

"Well…Um. You see…" The boy looked towards Gary and Drew for support but they gave him angry look, as if almost saying

'_Watch what you say!_'

"Well, we were practicing for the band…um yeah! For the band! On Saturday night, and I went to go yet some cola cause I was thirsty, but I tripped over all Gary's power cords which made me fall and Gary came down with me! Sure, let's go with that! Then our eyes smashed into each other as we got up and when Drew went to help, he fell over too and his eye landed right on Paul's guitar pick! It was like killer!" Ash quickly explained as he threw a story together.

"Huh?" Dawn asked confused, "But then why did Paul's hand get hurt?"

"Oh you see…"Ash began but was cut off by Paul.

"That is none of your freaking business, stupid girl." He said bluntly as he motioned the guys to follow him.

"Let's go. We're already late" He merely said as everyone followed.

"Dawn?" May began as soon as the guys left but Dawn quickly shrugged off the sad expression she had earlier and walked ahead of them.

"C'mon…we'll be late for class too…" She tried to sound brave but her response came out weak instead. Leaf was about to speak up but Zoey shook her head, full aware of what was going on.

She knew there was way more to Paul and Dawn's relationship then the others realized.

* * *

"Dude! That was the worst excuse for a story I've ever heard!" Gary insulted Ash as he smacked him against the head, very hard.

"Ow! I thought it was alright!" Ash complained, holding his hands over his head for support.

"Your just lucky that he made an excuse period." Paul remarked as he kept his eyes on his note book, completely ignoring the other boys' comments.

"Um by the way Paul…is everything cool?" Drew asked as he tried to fend off all the love notes he was getting from fan girls a few rows back.

Paul gave Drew a harsh look, and said in a harsh whisper. **_"We're not speaking of this. Got it?" _**

Drew nodded as he gave Gary and Ash a solemn look. Paul always got picky when it came to _her._ And that Saturday night was one of those nights when he couldn't control himself.

--Flash Back--

_Ash was typing away at on his computer while the other three guys just laid around his room, completely bored._

"_Honestly, can your typing get anymore more annoying?!" Drew finally shouted as he slammed a pillow against Ash's head._

"_Ow! What is everyone hitting me?!" Ash complained as he chucked the pillow right back at Drew, who expertly dodged it by tilting his head to the side._

"_Because you're an idiot." Paul mentioned as he sat on the floor, tuning the strings to his guitar. _

"_Hey!" Ash snapped back but Gary cut him off by looking over his shoulder._

"_Woah, you're talking to __**Misty?**__" He teased as Ash quickly nodded, a blush in the face._

_AshieBoy: Yooo Mist!_

_WaterChick589: Hi, Ash? Isn't it like 2:00am?_

_AshieBoy: And?_

_By this time, Drew came up to the screen too and looked over the convo. _

"_Ash, you totally suck at this. The best excuse you could have is 'And?'" Drew smirked as he kept watching over Ash._

"_Why do you think she's up this late?" Gary asked._

"_I think I know why…" Drew trailed off as she put his arms over Ash to type something._

"_Hey!" Ash shouted._

"_Shut up. Let me check something." Drew countered as he began typing, pretending he was Ash._

_AshieBoy (Drew): So, why are YOU up?_

_WaterChick589: Um, sorta at a sleepover. Duh._

"_Score!" Gary and Drew shouted as they exchanged high fives. Paul looked at the trio and rolled his eyes. God, they were so annoying!_

_After a long silence of Misty not responding, Gary decided to join in and he typed: _

_AshieBoy (Gary): Hey, let's put up a webcam!_

"_Webcam?" Drew commented as he rose an eyebrow, Gary just laughed it off 'Misty' replied. _

_Waterchick589 (May): Why?! OMG you're so perverted. I swear, just like Drew!_

"_And that would be the lovely May." Drew said sarcastically, trying to fend off Ash's swinging fists, hoping to push Gary and Drew away from the computer. After a few tries, Gary and Drew simply smirked and backed down. Ash finally got control over the keys and typed:_

_AshieBoy: May?_

_WaterChick589 (May): Nooooo, Misty._

_AshieBoy: Nope, def. May. Misty never talks about Drew and how perverted he is._

_WaterChick589 (May): Damn!_

_Just then, drew jumped over Ash's head while Gary pinned him to the ground. The green-haired boy sent a webcam invitation to the girls while Ash struggled to get free._

"_What the heck!" Ash shouted as Gary let him up. He looked at Drew and he smirked slyly "Woah Drew, you really are a pervert!" He laughed, while Drew just rolled his eyes in return. _

_**WaterChick589 has accepted your request for webcam. **_

"_Woah, they did it!" Now quick, hide!" Gary snickered as he and Drew hid, while Ashe sat in front of the computer laughing. _

"_Hey, guys! This webcam is so much fun!" He cheered, since the boy probably never used webcam to chat before, he found it quite amusing._

"_Yeah…sure…"Zoey rolled her eyes on the screen, obviously annoyed. She got up to display Misty, May, herself, and Leaf sitting on a pink bed._

"_Woah! Is that Dawn's room?! It's so pink!" Ash asked amazed, everyone simply nodded._

_Paul's head immediately jolted from what he was doing and smacked Ash hard against the head. _

"_Seriously, you're such an idiot." He harshly insulted, Ash gave him an angry glare in return but he saw the anger in Paul's eyes. That would signify as a warning. _

"_Eh? Is there others with you?" Leaf asked as she pointed her finger on her side of the screen. _

_Ash nodded as he displayed everyone in the room, which caused a few gasps. May did the exact same by putting Dawn's room in __**full **__view. _

"_Awe, how cute! A boys-only sleepover!" Misty teased, causing all the girls, to laugh. May had fallen off the bed from the laugher, shouting "Cute! Cute! Cute!"_

_Drew pushed Ash aside again, and took control of the chair. _

"_It's not a sleepover, idiot! We were practicing." Drew said as he flicked his hair. Drew decided that 2:00am was now the Let's-annoy-May-to-Hell time. _

"_For what?!" May snapped as she appeared in front of the screen._

_The Talent Show, what else? We're going to kick ass-" Drew paused as he looked at May; his eyes looked at her mischievously as he flicked his hair._

"_What now?! You little piece of green crap!" May roared at the screen._

"_Oh, I just noticed that you don't have your body pillow with you tonight! Kicking the habit?"_

"_**WHY YOU LITTLE-!"**__ May bellowed as she tried to attack Drew through the screen, Leaf, Zoey, and Misty had to restrain her back._

_Drew flicked his hair once more and smirked. _

"_Like I was saying, our band is going to play in the Talent Show." He declared in complete confidence. At this point, May began to calm down and now her huge temper was now at a violent simmer._

"_You guys have a band? Well, we're-" Leaf, being her oblivious self, almost spilled but just in time, Zoey covered her mouth. The guys sweat-dropped at the scene that appeared on Ash's monitor._

_After a few harsh whispers from Misty and Leaf, Gary finally spoke up._

"_Wait a minute, if this is Dawn's house, where's Dawn?" He asked, confused. Paul gave him a sharp look and Gary just looked towards the screen. Drew and Ash surrounded him, while Paul gave in and approached, an annoyed look still on his face._

"_Oh um-"May began but then Dawn entered the room wearing nothing but a tiny pink tank and her undies! Ash jolted, Drew turned red, and Gary simply smirked while he turned red as well. Dawn began to mumble about some crap about pants and then Gary spoke up._

"_Well, guess that solves it." _

"_**G-GARY! WHAT THE HELL!"**__ Dawn screamed as she came into view. Dawn began to shout at her friends how they didn't warn her and they began to counter saying they did. Paul suddenly grew very irritated and furious as he appeared in front of the screen. _

""_Well, I don't think any of us want to see that again. Bye." Paul said in disgust, he cancelled off the session without even a response from Dawn. As Ash's desktop came back into view, Gary, Drew, and Ash gave Paul a worried look. They all back away from him as Paul cracked his knuckles. _

"_D-Dude, we swear we didn't see anything!" Ash stammered as he waved his hands back in forth in front of him, Paul simply smirked._

"_**I know you didn't**__." The purple-teen said as he approached the trio of idiots. _

"_Now hold on Paul!" Drew said as he backed up farther. _

_He smirked, ignoring his friend's comment. Paul finally caught up with them as Drew, Gary, and Ash had no more space to back up against._

_Delia Ketchum looked up from her nighttime soap opera in her living as she heard loads of banging and crashing from upstairs. _

"_Boys will be Boys…" She sighed as she took another sip of her hot cocoa, anxiously waiting for the commercials to cease. Apparently, Delia worried more about cliff hangers and love triangles then her son's well being. _

* * *

"So, my sisters want us to come over tomorrow night for costume fitting." Misty said as she walked with her friends down the hall.

"I'm sure I could make it, I already have an idea on what I want to wear! It has to be GREEN!" Leaf bubbly said, causing everyone to laugh. If Leaf picked anything in her life, it would be green. From her car, her outfits, and even her locker was coated green instead of the traditional blue!

"Well, I just hope they don't go over-" Dawn began but due to her lack of focus, she bumped right into someone, causing them both to fall to the floor!

"Watch where the hell your going!" The stranger yelled, Dawn's eyes widened at the voice. The owner voice belonged to no other than, Paul!

"S-S-Sorry!" She quickly began as she frantically went to put all her belongings that fell out of her schoolbag back together.

Paul watched, annoyed, as the girl did so. He gave out a annoyed sigh as he helped her pick her things up, hoping that she would not make such a huge scene. Dawn was surprised by his actions but still she kept her head down as he helped, half for gratitude, the other to conceal the deep crimson on her face. Paul performed his deed with his usual emotionless expression when all of a sudden, he picked up something sparkling. His eyes widened, his face paled.

Dawn got to her feet as Paul did so, the sparkling object in his hands. Her face paled as well as she saw what it was.

Her necklace.

Regaining his composure and usual monotone, Paul harshly threw the necklace into the girl's hand as he stormed out of the building. Dawn did not hesitate to stop him; he had every right to do so. She just kept her head low, trying her best for tears not to fall.

Waiting for his footsteps to be out of ear-shot, Dawn began to walk alone out of the building, the opposite direction of Paul of course. Her friends tried to follow, but Zoey held them back, shaking her head.

"Did I just miss something?" May asked as Zoey sighed and said.

"Girls, apparently there's a lot you don't know."

* * *

Oh my God! That took forever for me to write! 20 pages! I hope I didn't delay it too long! **Aeneid **suggested that I put the guys' side of the story in there so it's there, yay! Thanks **Aeneid**! Well I hope this chapter gives you a little insight of Paul and Dawn's relationship, there's A LOT more too it than jerk/crush. I got that whole Ash/Misty segment from Ned's Declassified School Survivor Guide and I was like, "That's just like Ash!" So the next chapter would be about mostly the necklace and how it relates to Dawn and Paul. Looking forward to it? Please review cause they make me happy and I'll see you next time! Oh and, Happy Belated Valentine's Day!


	4. Chapter 4: Broken Memories

It's time for chapter 4! Um, well I said before that this story wasn't planned to be long but the key word is _planned. _Lol, a few more chapters and this story will be finished! I bet you all probably anxious to see what's up with the necklace so without delay, here it is! Lady Marmalade: Sweet Sweet Revenge, Chapter 4!! Heehee, bet you all thought this chapter would be called " Flow, Sista!" but that's next chapter!

**I DO NOT OWN POKEMON, ITS CHARACTERS, OR THE SONG 'LADY MARMALADE'.**

Author's note: This chapter contains many flashbacks so since having it all in italics would be awkward, I decided to just keep it in regular font. 

* * *

'_Heehee, let's go build another mountain Paul!' _A childish voice echoed through Dawn's mind as she tossed and turned in her sleep. The moonlight overshadowed her room, causing the whole room to have a dreamlike effect in the midst of the night.

'_I-I had another nightmare! Please, let me stay!' _The voice echoed again, causing Dawn to toss and turn more frantically.

'_N-No! You can't leave!' _The voice finally echoed once again, but this time it sounded like the young childish voice was crying.

The moon's light sparkled as it settled over Dawn's face, which caused the blue-haired girl to finally stop turning as she settled in the light.

And as the moon did so, it became visible that tears were gently flowing off of Dawn's face.

'_That'd you never forget me.'_

"Paul…."

--Flash Back--

"Alright Kids, it's time for recess!" The perky kindergarten teacher announced as all the little children rushed out to the play yard outside. The first one out the small door was a playful girl with long blue hair, who giggled as the bright warm sun greeted her cheery face.

She made her way to the vacant sandbox were she knelt down on her knees as she began to scoop sand into a big pile. It was a typical recess for the young Dawn Hikari, the brightest and sweetest girl in kindergarten. She kept scooping sand in a huge pile and patted it all down into a round dome shape.

'Perfect! My mountain is done!' She rejoiced as she looked around for something to top her masterpiece.

**SMASH!**

Dawn, as if in slow motion, turned around in horror as she saw her precious mountain smashed and reduced to bits!

'M-M-My Mountain!" She cried as she looked up to behold the face of her 'mountain-killers'. There before her stood 3 HUGE looking second grade boys who all laughed at the poor girl.

"SMASH! SMASH!" A fat boy with a bandage over his head shouted as he jumped up and down on were Dawn's sand pile used to be.

"N-No!!" Dawn cried as she tried to push to fat boy off but another, lankier, boy shoved her into the sand as she tried to do so.

"Watch it girlie! This is OUR sandbox and we decide what goes in it! And we don't want some sissy mountain right here!" He yelled at the girl as Dawn tried her best not to cry. This was not fair! This was HER recess, that was HER mountain, and they just smashed it?!

"W-Why you!" Dawn shouted as she tried to punch the boy but he just restrained her back by holding his palm to her forehead, laughing in the process.

"Hey, I know what would be more fun then smashing a mountain!" A snotty looking boy exclaimed, looking mischievously at Dawn.

"I know what you're thinking!" The fat boy agreed, 'Let's have fun with this girl!"

Dawn gasped in fear as she tried to run away but before she could escape the sandbox, the three boys grabbed her by the legs and began to push and shove Dawn in all directions, passing her to the other boy like a ball.

"O-Ow! P-P-Please Stop!" Dawn cried as she felt tears run down her cheeks, this only caused the boys to laugh and push her even harder.

"Hear that guys? She wants us to stop!" The snotty leader of the group laughed as he shoved poor Dawn to the ground, causing her to cry out in pain. The three boys' shadows overpowered the girl as they approached her, a mean look in their eyes. They were thirsty for more pain and misery. Dawn, being completely and utterly defenseless, shut her eyes and braced herself for the pain to come but suddenly…

"HEY! _LEAVE HER ALONE_!" A boy's voice yelled as he approached the trio of bullies. Before them stood a small kindergartner with purple hair and grey eyes, he looked angry, VERY ANGRY.

"Aw look! Another one!" The fat boy laughed as he pointed towards the small boy who came to Dawn's rescue. Dawn was too scared to even look; she kept her eyes shut, afraid to open them.

"Let's have fun with him too!" The snotty boy declared as he pushed the purple-headed boy.

Oh, but HE wasn't going to take that.

Suddenly, rage filled the small boy's eyes as he smashed his fist hard against the snotty boy's nose, causing it to bleed. The bully recoiled as he fell back onto the sandbox, shocked to see how much damage this kindergartner had done.

"That little brat made my nose bleed!" He yelled in disbelief as he ran his finger over his bloody nose.

"Now you're going to get it!" The snotty boy cried as he took a swing at the boy, but he expertly jumped over the boy's head just in time to avoid the attack. Before the bully could even realized were he went, the purple-headed boy ninja-kicked him in the back, causing him to fall face first into the sand.

Regaining his feet, the shaking boy looked at the small five-year old in horror .Smirking, the small boy took a step closer to the bully, which caused the bully to take step back.

"_WHAAA_! Don't hurt me!" The snotty boy cried as he ran away from the scene, screaming.

Dawn's hero smirked at the scene and turned his attention towards the lanky boy and the fat boy.

"**Who's next**?" He asked with an evil expression on his face.

The two bullies looked at each other in horror before they too fled the sandbox shouting in unison "MOMMY!".

"…Pathetic…" The small boy muttered to himself as was about to walk away until he heard a faint cry. He raised an eyebrow as he turned around to see Dawn sitting in the corner of the sandbox, tears in her eyes.

Sighing, the fellow kindergartner reached his hand out to his classmate. Dawn looked up, scared and confused. What should she do?

Was he a friend, or a new bully?

"Relax; I'm not going to hurt you. Are you alright?" He asked sweetly as he helped her up, Dawn nodded as she stared at the boy in astonishment. Just a matter of seconds ago he had such an evil look in eyes but now his eyes softened, causing him to have a friendly and happy face!

"T-T-Thank you!" Dawn burst into hysterics as she embraced her savior tightly, which surprised the boy very much. Awkwardly, he patted the girl's back as he helped soothe her tears. As Dawn let go, she began to cry again.

"W-What's wrong now?!" The boy asked, annoyed with the girl's crying.

"The meanies s-s-mashed my mountain! And it took me almost the whole recess to make it!" She cried as she hugged the boy again. Dawn couldn't help it, she felt safe with the boy. Almost if he would always hold on to her and never let her go...

"Oh…well I guess I could…" He began but stopped to consider the outcome, "I guess I could help you build your mountain!" He finished as he smiled at the girl, which caused Dawn to sniff out a "Really?"

"Sure! And it'll be bigger and better than the last one!" He smiled as he took Dawn's hand and led her to the spot were her previous mountain had been smashed. They both settled down as they piled loads of sand into an area and soon a new mountain began to form.

"Um…by the way…what is your name?" Dawn asked shyly as she added more sand to the mountain.

"…Paul." Paul said as he looked at Dawn, which caused a smile to form on her face. Dawn then giggled to herself; Paul looked at her, confused on what she laughing at.

"Yay Paul!" Dawn finally cheered as she lunged herself on top of Paul, hugging him in the process.

"I-Idiot! You just smashed your own mountain!" Paul insulted as he took note how Dawn completely landed on the pile of sand as she tackled him. He tried to break free of Dawn's hold; this only caused Dawn to burst into more giggles.

"Heehee, then I guess we have to build another one tomorrow!" Dawn giggled as she laid on top of Paul, amused on how Paul could beat up a bunch of big bullies but he wasn't even able to get free of her hold!

"F-Fine! Just, let me go!" He replied as his face began to turn into a light pink, embarrassed by the girl's actions.

"Promise?" Dawn asked as she gave him the infamous puppy-dog pout.

"Promise!" Paul shouted a little red in the face. This caused Dawn to giggle once more.

"Kindergarten! It's time to line up!" The teacher yelled as she blew a whistle, signifying that recess was now over. Dawn rose to her feet and helped Paul off his feet as well, and as she did, Dawn began to laugh again.

"What's so funny?" He asked, which caused Dawn to smile brightly.

"Friends?" She asked as she let out her hand sweetly. Paul stared at it long and hard before he replied:

"…Friends." Paul replied with a smile as Dawn smile grew wider as she did so.

And on that day in kindergarten, Paul Shinji and Dawn Hikari became best friends.

* * *

Ever since that day in the sandbox, Paul and Dawn were almost inseparable. When Paul would come into the kindergarten class to put his stuff away, Dawn would rush right over to him and start talking to him non-stop. It didn't matter if he replied back or not, Dawn would just keep talking.

And if Paul didn't come into school one day because he was sick, it would take the teacher and student aides_**hours**_ to calm poor Dawn down.

"B-B-But who am I going to play with?" Dawn cried as the teacher tried to calm her down.

"Sweetie, I'm sure Zoey would play with you." The teacher consoled as she gestured towards Zoey, another one of Dawn's closest friends, who was coloring with Kenny.

"B-B-But I-I want P-Paul!" Dawn cried even louder.

However, their friendship was not one-sided. Whenever a bully or a snooty person even _**looked**_at Dawn the wrong way, well, let's just say that person met Paul's fist in a matter of seconds.

"D-Don't hurt him too hard Paul! I'm s-sure he didn't mean to dip my hair in paint!" Dawn would always try to make the person Paul beat up appear less guilty then they already were, but Paul would simply shrug it off and say:

"Silly, what are you going to do one day when I'm not around?" He'd laugh, which cause Dawn to laugh too but once again, she closed her eyes for censorship once Paul returned to pummeling the kid in the face.

Dawn, even though she was sometimes against Paul's violence, was thankful for him to be her friend…

"I'll always protect you." He would always say to her if she cried, always giving her a warm hug in the process.

He was just like her guardian angel.

* * *

A 7 year-old Paul was sleeping one night in his bed until he suddenly felt someone shake him. Being the light sleeper that he was, he awoke to find no other than Dawn right besides him!

"_D-Dawn?!_" Paul asked in a surprised tone, shocked and confused how Dawn got into his room, IN HIS HOUSE for that matter. Was he dreaming?

"I-I had a r-really s-s-scary dream that you went away and never came back!" Dawn cried as she hugged Paul, who was still too shocked that Dawn was here, in her pajamas, in his bed, at three in the morning!

"S-So?! That's no reason to sneak into my room and come crying to me!" Paul shouted in a harsh whisper, more embarrassed on what would happen if his parents or older brother walked in to check on him and found Dawn there with him!

"Your suppose to go to your mom when you have a bad dream, stupid girl!"

"But I d-didn't want to see her, I w-wanted to see you! I wanted to make sure you were okay!" Dawn replied back as she held onto Paul even tighter.

"How did you even get into my room anyway?" Paul asked as he looked around his room. The door was still shut closed, and his window…Oh God, she used his window.

"I sorta climbed through your window! Dawn began, "Heehee, it's good that my house is right across from yours!" She added with a giggle.

Paul couldn't believe it; she must have climbed up the vines that grew on the side of his house, opened his window and woke him up! Well, he wasn't going to ask her, he really didn't want to know.

"Well, I'm fine, see? Now you can go back home!"

Dawn bit her lip and gave out a pout, tears rolling down her cheeks.

"…Dawn…No. Not going to happen. NO!" Paul stated to the girl before she could even ask. He knew exactly what she wanted and he did not want to!

Dawn continued her little 'hopeless and alone' bit, but adding more dramatic sniffs and her eyes becoming wider.

'**Why me?**' Paul thought as he looked over at Dawn.

"…Fine…"Paul sighed as he pulled back his gray covers on his bed, which caused Dawn to smile gleefully as she snuggled in next to Paul.

"You just have to be out of here by 7am, okay? The same way you came." Paul added as he tried to settle himself without coming into any contact with Dawn, when he found a suitable area, he closed his eyes.

"Hey Paul…" Dawn said with a sing-song voice.

"What. Dawn?" Paul asked, annoyed. He just wanted some sleep!

"We should get married one day, that way I won't have to come to your house every night I get scared! You'd be right there!" Dawn giggled as she looked at Paul, whose face turned a deep red.

'Idiot, t-there's more to marriage than being with someone you care about! You have to love them!" Paul whispered frantically to the girl as his face turned a deeper shade of crimson.

"But I do _love_ you Paul!"

"N-Not that kind of love Dawn! Like, the kinda of love that you'd want to kiss me kinda love!"

"I'll kiss you!" Dawn giggled densely as Paul smirked.

"On the lips?" He smirked at the girl, who turned a shade of light pink.

"Ew! No way! You got cooties Paul!" She whispered in a disgusted low tone, as if it was some top secret. Paul laughed. He turned over on his side.

"Good night." Dawn sweetly said as she wrapped her arms around Paul like a teddy bear, the girl soon drifted into sleep as she did so.

"Good night…" Paul said back in a whisper. He was annoyed that the girl snuggled up against him but Paul was too tired to even care.

Or push her away for that matter.

* * *

"-Gasp- Isn't that the most beautiful necklace you have ever seen?!" A 10 year-old Dawn exclaimed as she stood there in awe of a display in a department store window. She wore her favorite outfit that day, her black tank top, pink mini-skirt, white beanie hat, red scarf, and her pink boots.

Today was Saturday, and Dawn decided to bring Paul with her on one of her little shopping trips. Why would you ask that Dawn would bring her rude friend to go shopping for accessories and such and not one of her girl friends? The answer was simple: She loved him.

Now, Dawn knew not to go in over her head. After all, she was ten years old!

'_It's just a crush! It's just a CRUSH!' _Dawn would keep telling herself over and over again, well, she wasn't fooling anyone. Dawn honestly didn't know how it even started in the first place, probably because she was always with Paul and how he always was and still is so protective of her.

"Um, Sure." A 10 year-old Paul said as he walked up to the amazed girl. "But I doubt you could afford it." He added with a smirk, which caused Dawn to turn her attention back to Paul, shouting:

"And what does _THAT_ mean?!" She snapped as she put her hands on her hips.

"Troublesome," Paul began in an annoyed tone as he examined the pink heart-shaped necklace, "its 500 dollars."

"Eh?!" Dawn screamed as she looked at the necklace in shock, say it wasn't so!

"Why?!" Dawn cried to herself.

"Well, if you paid attention to the pink rock in the middle, that's a _real_ pink diamond." Paul told her like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"No!" Dawn moaned as she heard Paul's words, "And I really wanted to wear it too…." It wasn't that Dawn didn't like pink diamonds, in fact, she loved them. But how would a 10 year-old afford such a thing?

Dawn wondered what it would be like if Paul gave her the necklace as a gift, the very thought mad Dawn blush like crazy.

Of course, that would never happen.

Now, Paul wasn't the dense type like Ash but he wasn't aware of Dawn's feelings for him either. Well, not that she was _aware_ of. She couldn't tell him even if she wanted to anyway; their whole childhood friendship would shatter if it all went downhill! And not being Paul's close childhood friend was something Dawn couldn't bear…

"Whatever. Let's keep moving." Paul said in an irritated tone as she began to walk again, hands in his pockets.

"AW! But I wanted to look at the necklace some more!" Dawn complained as she reluctantly followed the purple-headed boy.

"I've should have brought May or someone if I knew you were going to be this boring." Dawn mentioned as she glared at Paul, he simply smirked.

"Relax, who knows? I might not be here the next day, so savor the moment." He teased in his annoying monotone, which annoyed Dawn like heck.

"UGH!" Dawn shouted as she marched right in front of Paul, staring him in the face. Paul simply gave her a smug smile in return.

"Shopping." Was all Dawn said, "You know what? Now we're going to shop two more hours! All because of your attitude!" There, that would be enough punishment for the gruff Paul!

Paul smirked as he walked past her, "Fine, but we're going to hit the clothing stores first."

"Really?!" Dawn said as her eyes sparkled, were her ears deceiving her?! "Yay Paul! Than-"

"To buy you a longer skirt. I'm telling you Dawn, your not going to be able to pull that off and still be labeled 'innocent' when your older." He smirked as he cut her off; Dawn stood there, her jaw dropped.

"ARGH! Get back here Paul!" Dawn screamed as she chased after Paul in her 'death-glare'. Paul saw this and started running, smirking as he did so. Honestly, like she would be able to catch up with _him_?

He looked back towards the girl, Yup; she was still definitely at it. Paul sweat dropped as he saw the girl, who was angrily pushing pedestrians to the side hoping to gain on Paul.

His eyes softened as she did so but Dawn was not aware.

He was really going to miss her…He really was.

* * *

Dawn awoke sleepily the next day to the sound of the sound of trucks and van constantly honking and moving.

"What…the?" Dawn thought aloud to herself as she looked out her window. But as soon as she did, she regretted it instantly. Her face paled, her skin formed goose bumps.

"No…No…it can't be…!" Dawn screamed in dismay.

Not even bothering to change out of her pajamas, which consisted of a blue tank top and blue pants, Dawn rushed out of her room and out the front door, tears in her eyes.

"Dawn?!" Johanna cried as she looked up from the breakfast she was making. Dawn ignored this however and kept on running.

'_Why Paul…Why didn't you tell me?!_Dawn cried to herself as she stooped in front of Paul's house out of breath, where workers handled furniture and placed them in vans.

'…_That you were moving…_

"Dawn?" A voice from behind Dawn asked her, Dawn quickly turned around.

"Paul-! Oh, it's you Reiji…" Dawn murmured as she saw Paul's older brother, looking at her confused on why she was here.

'Um, is there something wrong?" He asked as he tilted his head to the side, Dawn shook her head quickly.

Reiji's eyes softened as he saw her do so, he knew exactly what was going on in her mind. His brother didn't even tell her…

"Paul's over there, you can talk to him if you-"

Without even giving him the chance to finish, Dawn rushed right past Reiji and to where Paul was. Once she finally caught visual of him, she couldn't contain herself any longer.

"_**PAUL**_" Dawn cried as she threw her arms around Paul, whose back was turned from her. His eye widened once he heard her voice.

"D-Dawn?" He asked as he turned around to behold seeing his best friend, in tears.

"W-Why didn't you tell me?" She asked as she clutched her heart, her eyes tightly shut but tears still managed to drift out of them. "Why are you moving?!"

Paul looked at her with remorse, he really wanted to tell her the truth…but he couldn't…not now.

"Dawn…I'm sorry…I didn't want to tell you because I thought it'd make you feel-"

"Feel what?! Miserable?! Well, earth to Paul! What do you think I'm feeling now?!" Dawn spat as more tears vigorously fell.

"I wanted your last day with me to be ordinary, I didn't want you to be acting like this the past week. " He mentioned as he gave her a solemn look, Dawn shook her head, hoping that this was all just a bad dream.

"B-But I need you! You said you'd always protect me!" She cried even harder, Paul couldn't take it anymore; this was too hard for him to bear. He embraced her into a tight hug, which was quite unusual behavior for Paul. Dawn's tears stopped instantly as her eyes widened.

"Don't say that! No matter were I'll be, I'm always going to protect you no matter what!" He told her as he embraced her; Dawn tightly embraced him back, crying into his shoulders.

"And you're going to have to promise me that you're never going to flaunt yourself with those short skirts anymore. If any guy hurts you, I'm going to beat the living shit out of him, even if I have to travel to the other side of the country to do it. Understand?"

Dawn nodded into Paul's shoulder as she continued to embrace him.

"And…" Paul began as Dawn felt something cool wrap around her neck. As soon as Paul removed his arms, Dawn stepped back and placed her hand over her neck, only to find a necklace around her neck.

That beautiful necklace in the department store window.

"B-But how…" Dawn murmured as she looked over at Paul, who had a faint smile on his face.

"You seemed to be in love with that thing, so I thought if I bought it for you…" Paul trailed off, Dawn could feel more tears stream off her cheeks.

"That'd you never forget me."

"**P-PAUL!**" Dawn wept as she lunged to hug him once more, Paul did not hesitate to stop her. She cried into his shoulder, fearing that if she let go, Paul would disappear forever. But that was the thing, as soon as she did let go, Paul would probably disappear, and probably forever.

"Hey, don't forget that one thing you told me." He chuckled as he looked down at the crying girl. Dawn looked up with tears in her eyes.

"You know, one day we should actually get married, I mean, and then this would never happen again right?" He laughed, which caused Dawn to gasp, her heart racing.

"Y-You're serious?" She shouted, red in the face.

Paul shrugged his shoulders which caused Dawn to blush harder!

"Then, t-that means we're e-engaged!" Dawn thought aloud as she came to realization.

"As long as you keep that necklace, then yeah, I guess." He said with a smile as he rolled his eyes. Okay, so Paul wasn't exactly planning on having this mushy conversation with Dawn right now.

'Paul! It's time to hit the road!" Reiji called out to Paul as he drove up in a black BMW.

"I guess…it's time for you to go, huh?" Dawn weakly murmured as Paul nodded.

"Remember," Paul whispered to her softly as he pointed to the necklace, "As long as I'm here and as long as you want it, I'll forever keep that promise." Paul reassured her, referring to his and Dawn's engagement.

"Y-Yes."

And with that Paul brought her into one final embrace before he let her go. And as if in slow motion, Dawn saw Paul get into the car and drive away. Dawn still stood in that exact position as he did so, watching as the moving vans followed after them, and then she was alone on what was once Paul's front yard.

The wind gently blew on Dawn's body, causing her hair to gently flow with it. Tears streamed down her face as Dawn watched the Paul she knew,

Her Friend.

Her Protector.

Her Support.

And her potential Fiancé,

Drive out of Her Life, Forever.

* * *

Dawn took Paul's message to heart when she entered Middle School. She made sure to wear her longest possible skirt to school each day, nice black flats for school shoes, and her hair in her typical yellow clip style.

Whenever a boy would come up to her, Dawn would simply giggle and say "Sorry, But I'm already spoken for." Dawn's feelings for Paul still stayed strong over the three years of his absence, which meant to Dawn that she liked him _way _more than a crush. And to think one day they might marry, well, that is if Paul wasn't kidding with his promise.

But she didn't care, she loved him.

He was her Best Friend, and he always will be. That is, Dawn thought so until that one day in 8th grade.

* * *

"Oh My God, is that Paul?! " A fan girl screamed as many others created a huge mob in front of the Middle School Building.

"Huh?" Dawn asked Zoey, one of her closest friends who walked to school with her that day.

Ever since Paul left, Dawn and her friends Leaf, May, Zoey, and Misty became closer than ever and that was the only good thing about Paul leaving. She loved her friends to death. She was able to confine to them with "girl" issues and talk about the latest styles in the latest fashion magazines. None of them really were quite aware of her friendship with Paul, well, except Zoey but Dawn really needed a shoulder to cry on after he left.

Of course, Dawn left out the whole engagement thing. No one, not even her mom, knows about that. And Dawn preferred to keep it that way, although she did chuckle whenever a fan girl would obsess over Paul when his name was mentioned.

'_Wait a minute…Paul?!'_ Dawn cried in realization to herself as she pushed her way through a mob of fan girls. It couldn't be, was he really back?! The mere thought made Dawn's heart burst with joy.

As she made her way to the center, Dawn gasped. There before her stood her childhood friend, purple hair, grey eyes, yup that was him! His back was towards her as he just stood there like he always used to.

"P-PAUL!" Dawn cried out as she embraced him from behind, this caused many fan girls to gasp, but Paul didn't respond. He broke free from the brace and turned to face his childhood friend.

Dawn's eyes widened as she did so. Paul had changed so much! His body looked better built then his 10 year-old self, his face a little less rounder. But something was different…his eyes…looked more angry.

"I-I missed you so much!" Dawn said, as she saw his eyes flicker into an angry glare. She didn't know how to react, what was WRONG with him?!

"Hn." Was all he said as he nodded, Dawn looked confused.

"Eh? Is there s-something wrong?" Dawn stuttered, taking a step closer to Paul. Paul responded by taking a step back.

"Nothing. Just wondering why some freaking girl I don't know is talking to me." He stated flatly as he smirked. This caused all the fan girls to swoon over him.

Dawn's heart sank, her face paled. He didn't remember her!? After all they went through?!

"P-Paul, don't you remember?! It's Dawn!" She cried, trying her best for tears not to fall from her face.

"Oh now I remember, that annoying girl who lived across from me, who wouldn't leave me alone."

"What are you saying?!" Dawn cried, trying not to break down. Why was he doing this?! To her?!

"Honestly Dawn," Paul smirked, "You seriously thought we were friends?"

"B-But you promised…" Dawn wept; she couldn't contain her tears any longer.

"YOU SAID YOU'D ALWAYS PROTECT ME!" She finally cried out, Paul's eyes widened but he was quick to conceal it.

"I don't know what you're talking about." He stated in a harsh tone.

"Y-Yes you do, D-Don't lie! You said you'd always protect me! And that one day we will-" She began but Paul quickly cut her off.

"I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT THE HELL YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT! LEAVE ME ALONE!" He bellowed as he began to walk away.

"No! Paul!" Dawn shouted as she lunged after him, arm out, tears in her eyes. She grasped his arm, and caught hold on him. He gave her an angry glare as he shoved her off, causing Dawn to fall to the ground in pain.

"_Ah_!" She cried out in pain.

"_Paul…Why?" _Dawn murmured to as she pushed her arms up, so that she was partially lying on the cold concrete. She looked up to Paul, crying, and only to find him with a smug smile on his face.

_But how, do you expect me to live alone with just me, cause my world revolved around you, it's so hard for me to breathe!_

"Get lost pathetic girl, you already wasted enough of my time." Paul finally said as he walked away from the scene. Dawn's vision blurred from tears as she saw Paul's back walking away from her.

'_Paul…'_

Zoey rushed over to Dawn as she stammered up to her feet. The by standers that had witnessed the event all snickered at Dawn, Zoey sent them all death glares when she caught them doing so. Dawn didn't even notice.

"_Don't say that! No matter were I'll be, I'm always going to protect you no matter what!"_

'_Where those words lies?'_

"_You know, one day we should actually get married, I mean, and then this would never happen again right?"_

'_Were those lies too?!' _Dawn cried to herself. She looked down at herself, only to find her uniform all dirty and tattered from when …Paul pushed her.

"C'mon Dawn…there's still twenty minutes until first period. We can go to your house and quickly change before then." Zoey consoled as she took note of Dawn's uniform. Dawn meekly nodded as she walked towards the direction of her house.

'_Just forget him Dawn. Please, just forget it all.' _

But Dawn couldn't forget, in fact, she couldn't even if she tried.

No matter what seemed to happen, she'll always be in love with _him_.

Paul Shinji.

* * *

"A-Are you sure your going to wear that?" Zoey asked as Dawn walked out of her room wearing her shortest uniform skirt and her black heels, she also un-tucked her white uniform blouse for added effect.

"Yes, I'm quite sure." Dawn said as she headed for the front door.

If Paul didn't keep his side of the bargain, then why the hell should she keep hers?

Unfortunately, Paul didn't seem to take notice of Dawn's new look when she got to school, in fact, he seemed not to care at all. This shattered Dawn's heart.

"_And you're going to have to promise me that you're never going to flaunt yourself with those short skirts anymore. If any guy hurts you, I'm going to beat the living shit out of him, even if I have to travel to the other side of the country to do it. Understand?" _

He really seemed not to care about her anymore…but that was okay. Dawn would always look out her bedroom window where Paul's house was. Lucky for her , he moved back into his old house, but then again, it doesn't matter now…

He Hates Her.

But that's okay, as long as she had her memories, then that would be enough right?

Dawn caressed the necklace Paul gave her, the very one that signified their "engagement".

Right?

"ARGH!" Dawn screamed as she chucked the necklace at her vanity, becoming forever lost in the clutter that was settled upon it.

"_Remember," Paul whispered to her softly as he pointed to the necklace, "As long as I'm here and as long as you want it, I'll forever keep that promise." Paul reassured her, referring to his and Dawn's engagement. _

"I…don't want it!" Dawn shouted to herself, hoping for her words to make truth.

But the thing was, Dawn wanted it.

And She Wanted it Badly.

* * *

That took me forever! This chapter in won't count towards a chapter I the story, more like filler? Um, the lyrics in that scene with Paul and Dawn breaking their friendship is from No Air by Jordan Sparks and Chris Brown. I just thought it would fit. I'm sorry if my writing wasn't at its greatest, most of it was written late last night. So, bet you all didn't see that one coming? Paul and Dawn were engaged, that's like a make your jaw drop moment. I actually never intended for this story to get so detailed, but hey, you guys don't mind right? And aw, Dawn would visit Paul at night when she had a nightmare! Oh and just to let you guys know. The three bullies are NOT Ash, Drew, and Gary. I'm not that mean! I hoped you liked this chapter, please review and I'll see you next time!


	5. Chapter 5: Flow Sista

I'm so glad you guys really liked the last chapter! I wasn't too sure of it after I posted it up but your reviews really made me change my whole attitude on it XD. So, I got some requests for more oldrivalshipping so expect it in this chapter! The first segment, honestly, I'm not that pleased with since I rewrote it many times although I think it's alright. Okay, here's chapter 5 of Lady Marmalade: Sweet Sweet Revenge! "Flow, Sista!"

**I DO NOT OWN POKEMON, ITS CHARACTERS, OR THE SONG 'LADY MARMALADE'.**

* * *

"And that's all Dawn ever told me…I guess they were pretty close." Zoey finished as she looked over at the girls, hoping that they finally had a decent understanding of the whole situation.

"I never knew…" May remarked in complete shock, it was the next day during lunch period and everyone was sitting at their usual table, waiting for Dawn to catch up with them from her last period.

"But…why would Dawn even care if Paul ignores her?" Leaf asked oblivious, everyone at the round lunch table scoffed and gave themselves face palms.

"Think a little, Leaf." May implied sympathetically, feeling sorry for Dawn's unrequited love.

Zoey had told them all she knew, but even Zoey herself didn't know the whole story. On what Dawn told her, Paul was her close childhood friend and that was it. But then…Zoey and the others soon picked up on her true feelings.

At first, Dawn didn't want to admit it when they asked. She'd laugh it off with a weak laugh and continue on what they were doing, bring up a completely different subject as she did so.

They _knew_ Dawn didn't want them to know.

"She really does love him." Misty finished as she poked her salad around with a fork. "She never wanted us to know…"

"But why?" May asked.

"Because she knew that if we knew the truth …she'd have to face that fact that it was reality and not just a nightmare…" Misty replied, tears welling up on how painful it must be for Dawn.

"But how does that have to do anything with the scene in the hallway? Until then, they just ignored each other but then it seemed that something definitely happened…" May asked towards Zoey.

"Hmm, I don't know." She replied as she cuffed her hand around her chin, dumfounded. She didn't get it, even as she replayed the whole event, it still made no sense.

Dawn and Paul fell, Paul helped, he saw…something, and stormed off. Dawn didn't even hesitate to stop him. It was all too strange…

"We should ask her!" Leaf bubbly chimed.

"_NO!_" Everyone hissed, their eyes glaring at Leaf.

"She CAN _NOT_ know that I told you this. She's not even really happy that I know!" Zoey harshly whispered towards Leaf.

"I just hope that maybe there is some way we could help…" Misty began, but an approaching figure cut her off.

"Help with what?" Dawn asked as she approached her friends with her tray of lunch, oblivious to the fact they were talking about her. Misty and everyone nearly choked on their food as they heard Dawn's voice.

"N-Nothing! Um… just about the costume fitting tonight, that's all!" May frantically covered as she waved her hands back and forth in front of her.

"Y-Yeah! Daisy wants to take your measurements and stuff!" Misty added as she helped May with her story.

"Oh, well okay! Is there anything I should bring for the fitting?" Dawn happily asked towards Misty, who was still recovering the close call she had with Dawn.

"Not really, you'd be surprise how serious my sisters are taking this. They already have most of our costumes picked out already!"

"Ooh, really?! What does mine look like?!" May asked Misty, excited.

"I honestly don't know, they won't even let me look!" Misty complained as she stole a chip from May's bag.

"I hope that mine's green!" Leaf said with excitement, "It's my favorite color!"

"We all know Leaf." Zoey laughed as everyone else joined in.

"I'm just so glad the show is only in a few more days, revenge on Paul is going to be the best thing ever!" Dawn laughed. It was a sweet laughter, like it was normal conversation.

Her friends knew better now though.

"Yeah…" The girls agreed, how could Dawn lie to herself like this?

"Heehee, after all…he's such a jerk!" Dawn giggled to herself.

May, Misty, Leaf, and Zoey all gave each other sad looks as Dawn continued her little scheme. She wasn't fooling anyone.

"I mean…after…all" Dawn continued to giggle but her giggles became more faint and tears formed in her eyes.

'_I'll always protect you…'_

"Who…would love him anyway…" She cried to herself. She hung her head low, her hands over her face, sobbing. Leaf put an arm around her, rubbing her back to soothe her tears. Why did Paul have to put Dawn through so much pain? Why did Dawn have to bottle her emotions up so badly?

"_Because she knew that if we knew the truth …she'd have to face that fact that it was reality and not just a nightmare…"_

"…_I do…I love him…" _Dawn whispered to herself.

* * *

"Keep your back straight, Green!" The coach yelled at Leaf, who was trying her best to jump over the many hurdles that were scattered across the track field. It was after lunch, and it was time for Leaf's worse class… the dreaded Gym class!

"Ugh, at least it can't get any worse!" Leaf complained as she sweated under the hot sun in her white tank and small red shorts. Her long flowing brown hair was tied in a tight high ponytail, which annoyed Leaf sometimes since every time she ran faster, it would whip against her sweating back.

"Hey Leaf!" Gary called out as he caught up with her running distance, keeping a steady pace with her. He wore a white t-shirt and red shorts as well, but he didn't even seem to break a sweat!

"Too Late." Leaf sweat-dropped as she looked over at the spiky-haired boy, who was obviously in the mood to flirt with her. And of course, this was the only class when it was just her and Gary, why couldn't she be Art like the others?!

Her heart race sped up, why does it always have to do that when _he's _around?!

"What do you want, Perv?" Leaf asked as she referred to his little "peep-show" he had with her. Gary smirked.

"Aw, you're still in a fuss over that? I sure enjoyed it." He smiled from ear to ear, Leaf blushed from embarrassment.

"Of course you did, that's why you're a pervert!" Leaf blushed as she frantically jumped over more hurdles, trying her best to get away from Gary.

"Don't be like that, I couldn't help myself." He snickered as he easily caught up with her. Leaf looked over at him, why did he have to be so damn cute and so damn perverted!

"Well, the butt-smacking could have been helped!" Leaf countered harshly.

"More back, Green!" The coach continued to yell at Leaf.

"Well maybe that _could _have been help, but I couldn't resist. You're so cute." Gary flirted, Leaf turned a deep red.

'_He said what?!' _Leaf screamed to herself.

"In fact, I always thought you were cute." Gary continued to flirt with the crimson girl.

Leaf couldn't breathe, her vision was blurring. Was Gary going to ask her out?! Now?!

She kept running but her limbs began to go weak. That didn't stop her however …but she still didn't see that one hurdle…

_**CRASH**_

Leaf tripped over and fell flat on her face!

"Leaf!" Gary called after her as he helped her regain her feet. He wrapped his arms around her, becoming her only support for her to stand. Leaf's heart began to go a million miles an hour!

"Green! Are you alright?!" The rough coach asked as he rushed to the scene. He blew his whistle to notify the other runners.

"Um…Y-Yeah…" Leaf stuttered as she held on to Gary. Not because she felt like it, but because if she didn't, she'd collapse to the floor again!

"Oak! Take Leaf to the infirmary to check out her leg." The coach instructed towards the boy, Gary simply nodded.

"Can you walk? If not, I could carry you-"

"N-No! I'm fine!" Leaf quickly said. Gary _couldn't _carry her!

W-What would others think?! Plus, Leaf probably won't be able to bear any contact with Gary…

She tried limping to the school building but she gave out a cry of pain when she put her weight on her left ankle.

"Nonsense, you can't walk." Gary said as he approached the girl, his arms crossed, smirking.

"Don't-!" Leaf cried out but it was too late. Gary effortlessly picked her up bridal style and headed towards the infirmary. Many students stopped and stared.

"P-Put me down right now! People are staring!" Leaf complained as she turned multiple shades of crimson. Gary looked down at her and smirked, "Good."

'_Good?! What does that mean?!' _

It was only until he checked her in and laid her on top of one of the small cotton beds that he let go of her. Leaf, as much as she hated to admit it, found Gary quite sweet at times when he wasn't so perverted.

"Um…thanks I guess." Leaf mumbled as she poked her two index fingers together, blushing madly.

Gary smirked at this and decided to have fun with the girl. He suddenly grasped one of her wrists and loomed over her whole body, his eyes mischievous. Leaf's heart sped up to an impossible rate, her face pink. He wasn't going too-! No!

"What would you do…if I went further…?" He whispered into her ear, causing the hairs on her neck to rise. Just when you thought her heart couldn't go any faster, it _**did**_. Gary slowly pulled her hair out of its ponytail, letting her long locks to cascade down her shoulders.

"Err…Um…" Was all Leaf managed to say through her quivering lips. She couldn't believe it! Gary was practically on top of her, on a bed, she was practically immobilized from her ankle! If he really wanted to...he could…

Gary pressed his lips against her the side of her neck, chills went down Leaf's spine.

'_Oh My Freaking God!!' _Leaf screamed to herself.

His lips moved towards her cheek, her nose…then the corner of her lips…

"H-Hold it!" Leaf practically yelled as she managed to shove Gary off, Gary smirked.

"What, you didn't like it?" He teased as he sat on the edge of the white bed.

Leaf turned bright red, she couldn't answer! She was still stunned on his bold move! Thank God Nurse Joy walked in right at that moment.

'_Finally!' _Leaf rejoiced in her head, happy that the nurse can check her leg and get her out of here!

"Hello Miss Green, I hear we had a little incident out on the track." The sweet nurse asked as she looked over Leaf's bruised leg with her cold fingers. Leaf's back shivered, as the Nurse Joy continued to look over her leg with some sort of cold appliance. Leaf looked towards Gary, who seemed to still be smirking from only a few minutes ago.

'_Why can't it be Gary's hands-' _Leaf thought to herself but stopped mid-sentence.

'_What am I thinking?! Why would I want it to be Gary touching me?!'_ Leaf cursed to herself as the nurse finished, with a smile on her face.

"It's just a big bruise; it'll clear up tonight if you soak it in hot water and put a hot patch on it. You should be walking by tomorrow." The Nurse Joy sweetly said as she was about to leave the room, but she took a look at Gary and Leaf before she added,

"It must be so nice to have such a nice boyfriend to take care of you."

"B-But he's not-!" Leaf was about to argue but the nurse has already left.

After the door closed, Leaf slowly turned her head to Gary, who was smirking.

"So, where were we?" Gary began as he once again loomed over her. Leaf couldn't believe what she gotten herself into! If she just watched out for that one hurdle, she wouldn't be in this situation!

Gary's face leaned in closer and closer to Leaf's lips, his arms wrapped around her waist.

Leaf finally couldn't take it anymore, her heart was beating way too fast and her face was way to red! Her vision blurred once again as she _passed out_ on the bed.

Gary smirked as he laid her head down on the pillow, content that his plan worked. Making Leaf pass out was always one of his favorite pastimes.

'_It's so much fun to toy around with her.'_ He thought as he was about to get up but the peaceful look on Leaf's face made his heart beat fast.

He restrained himself as he stood up and was about to leave for the door but a small mutter from Leaf made him stop.

"…Gary…" She muttered in her sleep. Gary's face turned a bright pink.

"…You…want to give it a go?" Leaf muttered once again, repeating one of her lines from her and the girls' talent show performance. Of course, Gary didn't know that.

He walked over her and slowly but surely, he gently placed his lips over hers. Millions of sensations ran through his body as he did so, sure he kissed before, but not with Leaf.

He felt guilty but he couldn't restrain himself. His feelings were too much for him to bear. He could have sworn he felt her kiss back but he probably was just imagining it.

He gently let go and looked at her once more, kissing her forehead before heading back towards the door.

"Leaf is sleeping, be sure to have her awake for the next period." He instructed Nurse Joy as he walked out and headed to his next class, blushing madly. Did he and Leaf…just have a moment?!

Meanwhile, Leaf rolled over and slowly opened her eyes. Her expression was completely dream like. She had bed room eyes, a bright pink spread across her face.

Pretending to pass out sometimes has its benefits…

* * *

"Stupid pot, stay still!" May shouted to her pot as she spun it on a pottery wheel. Unlucky for May though, brown clay kept spewing everywhere.

"May, you have to be more gentle." Misty instructed as she showed the brunette how to gently do it.

"Yeah, but it's so hard! AH! Hit the deck!" May screamed as a giant clop of brown goo flew from her wheel and onto…Drew's face!

"Watch it, Maple!" He shouted as he wiped the gook off his face and threw it to the side.

"Heehee, but it looks so good on you!" May teased as she flicked more onto him.

"That's it, now you're going to pay!" He countered as he grabbed a chunk to and tossed some at her. It landed right on her face!

"Argh!" They both cried as they each grabbed mound fills of clay and ran around the room, having a clay fight.

"You know, if you didn't know them, they seem like a newlywed couple." Dawn teased as she walked to Misty's station, holding an art palette in her hands, a white smock over her uniform.

"Yeah, I know." Misty giggled as she observed May and Drew, who were ducking behind the art canvas's, running back and forth, huge piles of clay flying through the air.

"Good thing the teacher isn't here right now." Ash said as she approached Misty from behind, who silently shrieked as she heard his voice.

"Ash! Don't sneak up on me!" Misty yelled as she clobbered him with her brand new mallet.

"Ow! Stop it!"

Dawn laughed silently to herself, she looked over to the hallway and her eyes widened.

"Oh my god, guys! Is that Leaf and Gary?!" Dawn quickly said as she saw the duo, "and is she in his arms?!"

Misty and Ash looked over and they jaws too dropped.

"Woah, looks like Gary made his move." Ash commented, Misty and Dawn gave him an _Ash-Say-What?!_ Look.

"Yeah, Gary has sorta thing for her. He tries to hide it by being such a jerk though. It's too funny." Ash laughed as he grabbed a gob of clay and rubbed it between his fingers.

"Wait until we tell Leaf!" Dawn said giddily as she hugged Misty, happy for her friend.

"That is, if she doesn't already know." Misty added slyly, I mean, why else would Gary carry her bridal style?

"Well, I got to get back to my painting, um, where's the pink paint?" Dawn asked as Ash pointed towards the big paint-filled table in the back.

Dawn approached the table and scanned over the paint buckets. Meanwhile, behind her stood a mean looking boy, whose glasses tinted in the sunlight.

"Aw, here is it!" Dawn happily said as she leaned over for the pink paint.

The mean looking boy saw his and was about to reach for Dawn's skirt until a quick hand grabbed his wrist and threw him to the ground.

_**WHAM!**_

The boy struggled to get up but a foot was placed on his chest, preventing him from getting up. That foot belonged to no other than, Paul!

"Eh?" Dawn asked, completely unaware of the whole event as she turned to see Paul restraining a boy to the floor! Paul just stood there, foot on the boy's chest, hand in his pockets.

"W-What are you doing?!" Dawn cried, feeling sorry for the boy. She was completely unaware that that boy intended to do some _unpleasant _things with her.

"He was about to steal my paint." Paul covered up smoothly as he moved his foot to the upper part of the boy's chest, causing him to gasp out in pain.

"S-So?!" Dawn yelled at him shakily, this happened to be the first time Dawn spoke to him since the hallway incident. "That's no reason to hurt him!"

"It's _my _paint." Paul said with a harsh tone, was Dawn completely aware on what this "paint" was?

Ash and Misty looked on, worried expression on both of their face. Unluckily, May and Drew didn't notice the little event and ran past them, chucking clay at each other. Just when Paul was about to let go of the boy, a stray-a-way pile of clay hit Dawn in the face, causing her to fall! Well, on her way down, she grasped the table cloth that held all the paint and brought all the paint with her!

_**THUMP!**_

Dawn stood there, in the middle of the floor, covered in all the colors of the rainbow! The whole entire class burst into laughter, everyone except Drew, May, Misty, Ash, and…Paul?

Dawn couldn't believe it! She must look like a five year old who made a mess!

Just then, the teacher came in and gasped.

"W-What happened here?!" She shouted as she looked at Dawn.

"You see…" May and Drew were about to take the blame but Paul was quick to cut them off.

"I knocked over the table of paint and Dawn was in the way. It was none of her fault." Paul said in his usual monotone, Dawn sat there, her jaw dropped.

Did Paul just take the blame, for her?!

"Here Dawn; let's go help you get cleaned up." Misty and May offered as they rushed to their friend in need. Dawn weakly nodded. As they led her out of the room, Dawn looked over her shoulder to see Paul just standing there, helping the other guys in cleaning up the mess. There was a certain…look in his eyes.

"…What?" Dawn weakly muttered to herself as she was led out of the room.

* * *

"Ooh! Like, you made it!" The three valley girls chirped as May, Zoey, Leaf, and Dawn entered Misty's house for their fitting that night.

"No time to waste, girls like come here!" Violet said as the girls came to her, they sweat-dropped as she carried many shopping bags.

"Leaf, you're first! Go in the bathroom and we'll hand you your stuff." Lily instructed the girl, who nodded as she entered the small bathroom. Daisy took out a handful of items and opened the door, handing them to Leaf.

"Tell us when you're done so we can see!" Dawn said on other the side of the door.

After a couple of minutes and a few 'Ows!', Leaf emerged from the bathroom, fully 'dressed'.

"Um…wow Leaf!" May complimented as Leaf proudly showed off her attire.

Leaf strutted out in a jaw-dropping piece. She wore a low-cut light green strapless top with black lace embroidering around her chest area, plus a tight black choker around her neck. Leaf proudly flaunted her legs, which wore very short black shorts and fish net stockings that only came up to her knees, showing off her bare thighs. On top of that, she wore a dark green pair of high heels and black gloves.

"I love it!" Leaf said as she bubbly bounced up in down.

"It's sooo you, but we need one more touch." Daisy added as she took out a green feather. She sat Leaf down and pulled her hair so that it was half up and half down, then she twist some hairs to incorporate the feather.

"Viola! Sexy showgirl!" The blonde valley girl announced as she displayed her work of art. Leaf's hair was still down but towards the top in the back, an elegant green feather stuck out, finishing off her look.

"Aw Leaf, you look so pretty!" May and Dawn complimented, Leaf giggled.

"Alright, change out of it so we can go to someone else."

"But…it took me forever to get into this! Can't I keep it on?" Leaf begged as she gave them the infamous puppy dog eyes, they all shook their heads.

"We can't risk you getting it dirty or anything, sorry."

Leaf moaned as she headed back to the bathroom, and a half an hour later, she came out in her usual blue tank and red skirt.

"Next, May!"

"Alright!" May said as she grabbed the clothes from Lily and headed towards the bathroom. The girls waited patiently for May to come out. Zoey went to go help Violet with the many clothes.

"So Leaf…" Dawn and Misty began as they waited for May on the couch; Leaf looked up at them from the floor.

"Yeah?"

"So, would you care to explain why we saw Gary carrying you in the hall?" Misty began suggestively.

"_**EH?! YOU SAW THAT?!**_" Leaf screamed as she stood up, completely red in the face.

"We just want to know…if anything happened…" Dawn added teasingly.

"O-Of course not!" Leaf blushed madly, "I bruised my ankle badly during gym and he just helped me to the nurse's office but when we got there he-!" Leaf was about to spill but she covered her mouth right before. She was NOT going to tell her friends, no matter how close they were, what Gary did! That would be so embarrassing!

"He still didn't have to carry you like that…" The girls continued to tease.

"Hey!...Err…Um…ARGH! Forget it!" Leaf flustered. Misty and Dawns simply giggled, it was so cute.

"I think he _likes _you." Dawn cooed.

Leaf sat there, her arms over her legs. She thought over the events that happened. She thought of the kiss that they shared and she blushed a light pink.

"Yeah…" Leaf giggled quietly to herself.

"Bam!" May declared as she came out of the bathroom.

"Hello!" Misty, Zoey, Leaf, and Dawn shouted as May came out.

May walked out in what defiantly seemed to be her style. She wore a red top hat that had the cursive writing of _**M **_in silver, a red laced bra, red choker, small red panties, and high red leather boots. She also wore black fingerless fishnet gloves and various bangle type bracelets.

"May…that's like nothing!" Misty cried out.

"So? I like it." May defended as strutted her stuff around the living room.

"I think it's like an excellent match for her! Next is you little sis!"

Misty grabbed the clothes, mumbled something out of her mouth, and headed towards the door.

"Anyway, I'm soooo sorry Dawn! If Drew and I didn't have that fight-"

"Don't worry about it, I'm fine." Dawn replied happily.

"Is there any way I could make it up to you?"

"Nope, seriously, don't worry about it!" Dawn laughed.

"_**Daisy, Lily, Violet!!"**_ Misty stormed out of the bathroom; all the girls gave gasps of delight at Misty's appearance. She wore a white diamond encrusted bra and white panties, where on the back had a long white train. Add white sheer leggings, white boots, a diamond like necklace, and white gloves, and you'd get Misty's outfit!

"That won't work…" Daisy began as she approached Misty.

"Thank you!" Misty agreed.

"You need to pull out this ridiculous side ponytail." Daisy criticized as she pulled the ponytail out. Misty's long hair fell down to her shoulders.

"H-Hey!" Misty began.

"And you need some extensions too, don't worry, we'll add some in on the night of the show."

"WHAT!"

"Don't worry, you look pretty Misty and Ash will be sure to notice you!" Leaf added, all her friends agreed.

'Now hurry and change so we can get to the lovely Dawn!"

"Eh…" Dawn murmured.

'_Crap….' _Dawn cursed to herself; she could only imagine what they had in store for her.

Misty quickly changed out of her outfit and sat on the couch, content to be back in her own clothes. Dawn got up and was handed her "outfit". Slowly, she closed the door. She looked down on what was in her hands. Skinny black panties, two white-laced garters, white fishnet stockings, pink high heels, pink long gloves, and…a small tight pink corset.

She threw on the panties, they barely covered her cheeks!

"Oh well…" Dawn mentioned to herself.

Struggling to get her feet through the stockings, Dawn fell over.

"AH!"

"Are you alright?" Zoey's voice asked through the other side of the door."

"Y-Yeah!"

Dawn put on her pink high heels, and pink gloves. Then she slid on the garters, and then came the hard part…her corset. She tried getting it on but she needed someone to help.

"Um, can someone help?" Dawn asked as she poked her head out of the door. Violet came rushing to her aid as she placed the corset over Dawn's chest and tied the strings.

"Dawn, hold on to something." She instructed.

Dawn held on the door as Violet tightened the corset.

"Now, hold your breathe!"

Dawn did so and one, two, three….

_**YANK!**_

Dawn let out a huge gasp of air as Violet tightened the corset. She laced the back with a white ribbon before stepping back.

"Wow Dawn, you look amazing!" All the girls cried in unison.

Dawn stepped back and looked at the mirror in the living room. Dawn didn't even recognize herself. The pink corset was small and tight. It showed off her navel, and since it was so tight, it made her chest look larger. Her black panties were laced and it barely covered much in the back. Dawn admired her white fish net stockings and pink high heels, the garters really helped it blend in with the color scheme!

Lily soon rushed over and showed Dawn various jewelry that was suppose to go wit her outfit. She placed a diamond ring over one of her pink fingered satin gloves and a few bracelets too.

"Now, we just need a necklace!" Daisy chirped.

"W-Wait….!" Dawn mentioned as she rushed over to her purse, her heels clicking against the wood flooring. She dug through it and pulled out a sparkling object.

Her necklace….

She looked in the mirror and placed the pink heart-shaped necklace around her neck. The silver chain tightly hugged her neck while the pink diamond in the middle of the silver heart shone brightly. It seemed to be made for the outfit.

"Perfect." Was All Dawn said as she stood before her Revenge.

* * *

Late that night, Paul looked over at his window, staring forlornly at the bright moon.

'_Why does she have to make this so damn hard?!'_ Paul cursed to himself.

'_But I do love you Paul!' _Dawn's childhood voice echoed through his mind.

He banged his fist against the wall as he recalled all his childhood memories. He couldn't, he just couldn't keep that promise!

His thoughts ran to the hallway incident. He sat on his bed and ran his hand through his hair, a habit he's always down when he was frustrated.

"She still has it…." He murmured to himself, referring to the necklace. That only meant one thing, she still expects him to keep that promise…

"I'm sorry Dawn…But I can't." He added quietly as he looked over at his phone.

"_YOU SAID YOU'D ALWAYS PROTECT ME!" _Dawn's painful cry rang through his head like shattered glass.

"I'm still protecting you; you just aren't realizing it

He picked it up and looked towards Dawn's house; there was a very good reason why he couldn't be with her, why he couldn't marry her, why he couldn't be her friend….

He began to dial a number and held it to his ear.

That reason was so simple.

The phone hummed, signifying that the other phone on the line was ringing.

So simple that not even Dawn could understand.

He hesitated as he heard the phone pick up.

He Loved Her.

Dawn rushed out of the bathroom, a towel wrapped around her body. She was taking a shower when she heard the phone ring, and since her mother wasn't home, she had to answer it.

"Hello?" She asked innocently, panting out of breath.

* * *

I'm so evil, giving you guys a cliff-hanger like that. Well, next chapter is BUM BUM! The Talent Show! So I hope you guys like that little oldrivalshipping bit in there, it was so much fun to write! Bad Gary! Never toy with a girl's emotions!

Hoped you like this chapter, please review and I'll see you next time!


	6. Chapter 6: Gitchie Gitchie Ya Ya Ta Ta!

Another chapter, yay! I bet you're all anxious to read this so I'll skip the chitchat now and bring on the chapter! So here it is, the next chapter to Lady Marmalade: Sweet Sweet Revenge,

"Gitchie Gitchie Ya Ya Ta Ta!" This is gonna be a long one!

**I DO NOT OWN POKEMON, ITS CHARACTERS OR THE SONG 'LADY MARMALADE'.**

* * *

"Hello?" Dawn answered as she picked up the phone, her chest panting from rushing downstairs.

"Hey Dawn!" May's peppy voice greeted as Dawn answered.

"May? I was in the shower!" Dawn whined as she headed her way back upstairs, the cordless phone against her ear, her hands clutching the dripping wet towel around her.

"I just called to say that I'm still really sorry about that Art incident! It's all Drew's fault! Honestly!" May rushed together in a hysteric sentence, Dawn began to laugh.

"It's okay, really!" Dawn reassured her once again as she entered her bedroom, taking off her towel and slipping into a white robe.

Every since then, it was all May could say to Dawn. Why wouldn't she? After all, she probably just made the whole entire Paul and Dawn thing _more_ awkward for Dawn.

As if it wasn't awkward _enough_.

"I'm actually kinda glad you did…" Dawn quietly said, half to May, half to herself.

"Huh?" May asked, confused. What was Dawn _talking_ about?

"Never mind May, it doesn't really matter!" Dawn laughed off, "I'm just so excited for the Talent Show, only a few days now!" Dawn happily exclaimed as she twirled a lock of her wet hair in her fingers, quickly covering up her words from earlier.

"I know! Your outfit is so adorable! You'll be sure to smack some sense into Paul with that one!" May giggled on the other end, Dawn joined her.

"And you'll definitely make a certain green-haired guy's jaw drop!" Dawn added, which only caused the two girls to giggle even more.

"Well, it's pretty late and we should both wake up early tomorrow if we're going to have to deal with another rehearsal." Dawn reminded May, who moaned in the process.

"Ugh, I could feel the pain already. Alright, see ya Dawn!"

"See ya!" Dawn laughed as she pushed the END CALL button on her phone.

However, the laughter didn't last long.

It wasn't that she enjoyed the conversation with May but she expected someone else to call…

"Why would I even think that _he_ would call…" Dawn murmured to herself as she looked out her window, only to see the familiar vision of Paul's house right across from hers. The girl half expected Paul to call, but probably only because to explain why he covered for her in Art…or maybe to see if she was…okay?

It was so unlike him.

Dawn sighed heavily as she shut her curtains together tightly, not being able to bear the image no longer.

"I thought I finally understood, but there you go again and change everything…"

--Earlier--

Paul sat there as his phone hummed, irritated as heck. Finally the person picked up.

"Hello?" Ash answered sleepily. Obviously the lazy boy was sleeping when Paul called.

"You wanted to tell me something?" Paul asked in his usual annoyed tone. Of course he was thinking of calling Dawn but even that would be too far…

"Huh? Oh yeah! Um, we sorta changed the song we're performing on Friday…"

"_What?_ What's wrong with the one we have now?" Paul asked, _extremely_ irritated. That means they'd have to spend more endless nights practicing, and practicing, and PRACTICING.

"Well…we just figured that this one seemed better to perform since it's more, I don't know, out there!" Ash tried to convince the cold teenager.

"But-" Ash continued but he was soon to be cut off.

"Whatever." Was all Paul said as he hanged up on Ash before he could even say anymore. Ash stared sleepily at his phone, shrugged his shoulders, and fell backwards into bed.

Paul gave out a frustrated sigh as he collapsed onto his bed as well. He just wasn't in the mood to hunt down Ash and confront him; he was too exhausted for that. Instead, he looked up at the ceiling and stared at it long and hard.

"Dawn…" Paul murmured to himself. A vision of Dawn, standing there, crying appeared in his mind. She was alone, and not matter how much she was consoled by others, she just cried even harder.

Paul finally understood.

"I'm…sorry…" Was all Paul said before he drifted off into a deep slumber, were vicious nightmares would snap at his soul. He wouldn't mind though, after all, the worst nightmare was already happening.

And it involved the tears of a certain blue-haired girl.

* * *

Days have passed, and the highly anticipated day of the Talent Show finally arrived. Students buzzed in homeroom, all thrilled and excited for the night's show and multiple performances. Leaf, Zoey, May, and Misty crowded all around Dawn at her desk, secretly discussing their performance with great excitement.

"So Violet said that there will be a half hour intermission before us, which would be the final act. You know, to get the scenery and stuff up." Misty explained to the girls who all nodded.

"I just hope everything goes alright, I mean, what if the guys aren't even in the audience?" May asked, lately the brunette began to think of all the worse things that could go wrong.

"Don't worry, they will. I asked Kenny to make sure they're seated in the front row." Zoey said with great confidence, suddenly, all the girls gave her a sly look. Kenny was head of the Talent Show committee…_and_ also Zoey's crush!

"Of course, Zoey _had _to make sure that _she _was the one to check it out with Kenny." Dawn cooed, Zoey turned a bright red.

"H-Hey! I had to make sure that he got the instructions for the lighting and stuff. HE'S also the one who's in charge of the spotlight! And with our performance, it has to go in synch with the music!" Zoey quickly flustered as she turned even redder!

"But didn't you sisters' already set everything up, lighting wise?" Leaf asked towards Misty, who nodded. Zoey turned the darkest crimson you could imagine! She _really_ wanted to smack Leaf right now!

"J-J-Just forget it!" Zoey yelled, all the girls couldn't help but laugh. It was a rare sight to see Zoey get worked up over a guy, she was normally so calm and collective!

"Well at least Kenny is so sweet and nice, unlike _someone _I know." May said distastefully as she rolled her eyes, referring to a certain green-haired boy.

"Speaking of which, where are they anyway?!" She added as she scanned the room, annoyed. Weren't the guys in the same homeroom with them?

"Psh, like you haven't heard." A noisy and obnoxious fan girl commented as she and some other fellow fan girls approached the group.

"Heard what?" Dawn asked.

"Drew and the guys went to the auditorium to try out for the Talent Show. Like, everyone who is going to be in the show has to be there, _right now._"The fan girl finished in a matter-of-fact tone, all the other fan girls nodded with a dreamy expression on their faces.

"_WHAT!?"_ Dawn, May, Misty, Leaf, and Zoey screamed in horror as they bolted past the mob of fan girls and out of them room. _THEY_ were supposed to be at the try outs, RIGHT NOW!

"Shit, Shit, Shit, _SHIT_!" Dawn cursed as the girls rushed through the halls in a mad scurry.

If they didn't make it in time…that meant… _**NO REVENGE**_!

* * *

"Do we have everyone who is trying out?" Kenny asked as he filed a few papers in his hands. Paul, Drew, Gary, and Ash stood there on the stage, completely annoyed, _especially _Paul.

"Please say "here!" as I call your names, erm… the Drews?" Kenny sweat-dropped as a group of cheerleading fan girls raised their pom-poms in the air, all screaming Drew's name.

Drew flicked his air in a boastful way, all the fan girls cried out even louder!

"Okay…moving on…" Kenny continued as he continued to sweat-drop.

--Meanwhile--

"Dawn, wait up!" May cried out as she tried to catch up with her friend, but Dawn wasn't listening. She HAD to get to the auditorium, she couldn't miss her chance! She didn't care about keeping it a secret any longer!

Her feet skidded as she made a sharp turn, her friends soon followed as they tried to catch up with their fast moving friend.

But who can blame her?

Dawn was sick and tired now! Suddenly, as if it all just dawned on her, Dawn's rage suddenly lashed out. WHY did Paul treat her like this? WHY did she have to be treated so badly?!

WHY THE HELL DID HE ABANDON HER?!

* * *

"Drew, Gary, Ash, and Paul?" Kenny called out once again to the crowd of students on the stage.

"Here!" Ash called out, Gary and Drew responded by slapping Ash hard on the head.

"Ow!"

"God…"Drew muttered under his breathe, Gary snickered.

Paul stood there, his arms folded, an annoyed expression on his face. He had a bad feeling something was about to happen but he just couldn't put his finger on it…

"Okay guys; perform your act so we could move along." Kenny said as the boys went to there instruments.

Paul gave up and sighed as he picked up his guitar. Whatever this feeling was, He was sure it was nothing.

* * *

The five girls' pace quickened, Dawn in the lead. Her brow was furrowed, a determined expression on her face.

'_I'm going to make it!' _Dawn cried triumphantly to herself as she saw the auditorium's doors come into view.

"Dawn, WATCH OUT!" Leaf cried out. Dawn looked back in alarm but it was too late.

Before Dawn knew it, she found herself falling towards the auditorium's entrance…

* * *

"Great!" Kenny complimented as the guys finished their performance, which left all the fan girls in major screams and applause. Gary, Drew, and Ash gladly soaked in the praise, but Paul just stood there, emotionless. He didn't care for the applause or the praise; he could only care about _one_ thing.

Or _someone_.

"And finally…Team Marmalade?" Kenny called out.

Drew gave ash and Gary an amused look as they all snickered.

"Marmalade? What kinda group is that?" Drew laughed, Ash and Gary joined him.

"Do they make jam or something?" Ash asked, still laughing from Drew's remark.

"Team Marmalade?" Kenny called out once more, no response.

"Alright then…if that's everyone-"

_**CRASH!**_

Everyone turned their sudden attention to one of the entrances, gasps filling the room as they did so.

There before them stood Dawn, face first one the floor! On top of her was May, then Leaf, then Misty, and Zoey just standing there, looking down, embarrassed.

"Ow…." Dawn murmured underneath the dog pile.

"H-HERE!" Leaf shouted out from the pile in her usual peppy and cheerful voice. The dog pile was the result of an incident that was terribly unfortunate. If only that cable cord got out of the way, Dawn wouldn't have tripped and May, Misty, and Leaf wouldn't have tripped over her!

Dawn looked down at the stage, her heart beating faster with every passing minute.

'_Paul…is right there! And he's staring at me!' _

"Here Dawn," Zoey said as she helped Dawn to her feet, Dawn did so, but she did not take her eyes off the stage, or to be more specific, _someone._

Paul stared at her, his eyes confused.

'_What the hell is she doing here?!' _He thought as Dawn and the others joined with the other students.

"Oh MAN! You have got to be kidding me!" Drew laughed as he approached May, who glared at the boy.

"What is so funny?!" May countered, placing her arms on her hips and furrowing her brow in annoyance.

"C'mon May, be realistic. Do you honestly thing your _girl group _or whatever you guys are doing can beat our band?" He smirked, flicking his hair in the process. All the Drew cheerleaders screamed in response to his move.

"It's not some girl group! It's totally _awesome!_ You just have to see!" Leaf responded, aiding May.

"Oh, we wouldn't miss your humiliation. That's for sure." Gary replied.

"What'd you say?!" Leaf bellowed, getting right up in Gary's face. After about five seconds, the pair turned bright red as they realized how close they were before automatically looking the other way.

Okay, so they weren't exactly over the whole nurse's office thing.

Misty stared down at Ash, daring him to comment with her mallet sticking out from behind her back. Ash saw this, stepped back a few feet, and gave her a weak thumbs-up. Misty smiled sweetly.

'_Good Boy!'_ She thought as she mentally patted Ash on the head.

Dawn however, didn't really watch her friends' showdowns; in fact, she kept her eyes on the floor. She felt Paul's cold gaze on her, and it sent multiple shivers down her spine, any determination she had before seemed to drain out her.

"Alright team Marmalade, let me see your performance." Kenny mentioned as he sat on one of the seats in the rows, he gestured for everyone but them to get off the stage, so they did. Paul kept his gaze on Dawn, who kept her gaze on the floor.

'_Just don't look into his eyes…Just don't look…' _Dawn thought, maybe if she didn't look him straight on, she could get through this ridiculous rehearsal.

"W-Wait a minute…you want us to perform? As in, do our routine right here, r-right now?" Dawn asked in horrified realization as she look up in astonishment.

"Yup, that's right Dee Dee!" Kenny laughed out.

"ARGH! Don't call me that!!" Dawn screamed at Kenny as May and Misty held her back. Paul saw this and silently smirked to himself.

'_She hasn't changed one bit.' _

"B-But we c-can't do this right now!" May told Kenny as Dawn violently simmered in her restraint.

"Why Maple? Are you stage fright? Aw, poor thing!" Drew laughed out in a baby voice.

"_**WHY YOU-**_"

"Enough!" Kenny called out, everyone turned silent. "Girls, you _must_ try out to be in the actual show."

Each and every girl froze. They couldn't do their performance now! It would ruin everything! Plus, they didn't have their music or even props for that matter!

"Well, I'm waiting."

"They didn't perform!" May yelled as she pointed at the guys.

"Yeah we did, and if weren't late, you would have seen it!" Drew shouted back, May fumed.

"Oh My God, LET'S JUST DO IT!" Dawn finally screamed, causing the whole room to go silent. "We have no choice…" She finished silently, meekly looking up at Paul.

He was staring right at her!

'_Stop s-staring Dawn!' _She scolded herself as she focused her attention back to her friends, who were all scowling that they had to give up the surprise factor of their performance. The whole room went silent as Zoey stepped up.

"_Ladies and Gentlemen, Welcome to the-_" Zoey began as the girls got into their formation but three peppy voices cut her off.

"Like, _Stop!!_" Three high-pitched voices called out. Everyone turned their attention to the source and to the girls' relief, it was Misty's sisters! There they confidently stood all wearing matching black suits and black sunglasses, a black brief case in each of their hands.

Dawn gave out a sigh of relief.

'_Thank God!'_

"What's going on?" Kenny questioned as he stood up from his seat, curious on who these people where and _why _they would interrupt the try outs!

Ash, Drew, Gary, and Paul all had the same expression on their face, as if saying _"What the-?!"_

"Like, as these girls' managers, we would like them to refrain from trying out right now. They don't have their proper music, costumes, props, etc." Daisy began as she handed some papers to Kenny, who sweat-dropped.

"But they still have to try out! If they don't then they can't be in the show!" Kenny countered; the trio gave out a sigh of annoyance.

He had a point there.

'But the moving vans full of props didn't arrive yet! And the male extras aren't even here-!" Violet whined.

"Now wait a second! You guys promised that you wouldn't hire male extras!" Misty yelled as she pointed at her sisters accusingly.

"Little Sis, it'll help add atmosphere!" Lily pointed out, "Besides, they already have been paid!"

"NOW HOLD UP! What the hell are you guys throwing together?!" Drew asked as he and the others approached the girls, completely irritated and furious, _especially Paul._

Perhaps when they heard the word _male extras_?

"That's for you to find out!" May teased as she playfully tugged on Drew's locks, he turned bright red as he slapped her hand away!

"Whatever the case is, you girls have to do something!" Kenny retorted with great annoyance as he put his hands on his hips.

"Kenny dearest," Daisy began, turning on her charm as she took Kenny's hand into hers. "The girls wished to keep their performance on the down low to surprise some certain boys." She whispered discreetly to the boy, who was bright red.

"And trying out in front of them would ruin everything they worked for…so can't you make a little exception?" She cooed, causing Kenny to blush even harder and fumble out "S-S-Sure."

Zoey turned red with envy as she witnessed this, "L-Leave Kenny alone!"

"So it's like settled!" Daisy giggled, ignoring Zoey completely.

"But we still need proof that they have _actual _talent." Kenny pointed out, still a little red from earlier.

"Sure, Misty hit a note." Lily instructed as she handed Misty a mic, she did so with great confidence. Ash jolted at the sound of her voice, was that really her?!

"Now May." May sang out a perfect A note, Drew stood there in amazement.

"Heehee." May giggled as she stuck her tongue out at him.

"Leaf." Leaf performed her deed and smirked at Gary, whose jaw dropped. Giggling, she lifted his chin up with her index finger before she herself, turned a little pink.

"And the lovely lead, Dawn!" Lily finished, everyone gasped. Dawn shrieked, she did not just say in front of everyone that she was leading!

"_Dawn's the lead? Are you sure that's such a good idea?" _A fan girl's voice whispered out loud.

Dawn stood there frozen; she felt everyone's eyes on her. She clutched the microphone tightly in her hands as she caught Paul's gaze. Her heart started to beat fast, any confidence that flame in her heart now suddenly burned out.

"_That's the same girl who burned the stage down last year!" _Someone whispered in the audience.

"_Oh yeah, I heard she did it all to impress Paul!"_

"_Pathetic!" _A girl shrilled out_._

Dawn stood there and gulped, ignoring all the harsh whispers around her.

It was now or never.

Paul was watching _her. _It was her turn to redeem herself! To show him that she wasn't worthless, that she wasn't weak!

'_I must be strong!'_ Dawn cried confidently in her head.

She took a deep breath and let a belting powerful high note, much clearer and melodic than the rest.

The whole room went silent as she did so, was that Dawn?! Her voice was so loud, so clear, and so beautiful that it left everyone speechless! But Dawn didn't care what _they _were thinking; she wanted to know what _he _was thinking.

As she ended the note, she gave a sharp gaze to Paul, channeling all her anger and sorrow into it. Hopefully, he would see all the pain he has caused her, all the misery he had given her!

Paul stood there, he wasn't shocked or anything, nor was he was he amazed. He _knew_ Dawn was a talented singer and he finally understood the purpose of such an emotional note.

'_Dawn…I'm sorry…' _He wanted to tell her aloud, but what would her reaction be? He knew perfectly well she would never take him back…

Instead of glaring harshly back at her, his eyes softened as he sadly gazed over at her. Dawn gasped silently to herself, her eyes widening as tears began to silently trickle gently down her face.

Paul had _never _had given her that look before. The last time he looked at her that way was when….

"_Remember," Paul whispered to her softly as he pointed to the necklace, "As long as I'm here and as long as you want it, I'll forever keep that promise." Paul reassured her, referring to his and Dawn's engagement._

"Is that enough for a try out, Kenny?" Misty's sisters asked the awe-struck Kenny, who nodded with his jaw still hanging low.

"Yay!" The girls cheered, except Dawn. Her feet felt like lead, her nerves shaking.

Paul…had he changed his mind about her?!

"Dawn, are you alright?" Misty asked, concerned. Dawn ignored her; her voice seemed far off somewhere.

"I-I'm fine, I just need to get some fresh air…" She replied weakly as she headed for the auditorium's doors, her heart fastened as she past Paul.

She nervously kept on walking.

'_I'll always protect you…'_Paul's voice echoed through her mind as she became woozier.

"…Paul…" Dawn murmured in a barely audible tone that she was sure no one heard but herself. Her heart rate sped up, she could barely breathe!

"…help…"

And those were the last things she said before she collapsed, right then and there in the aisle, the image of her childhood friend burning into her mind.

"_Dawn_!" Her friends cried out as they were about to rush over to her but came to a sudden halt when they found someone already aiding her.

There stood Paul, holding the unconscious Dawn in his arms, bridal style.

Even if Dawn never had known…somehow he heard that faint cry before she passed out.

He looked forlornly down at her, a sparkling glint catching his eye.

She was secretly wearing that necklace…

"I'll take care of her." Was all he said as he left the auditorium, no one even dared to get in his way. He wasn't mad or angry that she was wearing it. In fact, his heart seemed lighter than it ever was before.

"I'm here_…" _He whispered into her ear.

And for the first time in years, Paul Shinji actually smiled.

* * *

"Finally…"Gary remarked, breaking the silence that had overcome the auditorium.

"Huh?" Leaf asked as she approached him curiously.

"Are you guys even _aware_ of _that?_" Drew asked as he pointed towards the doors Paul and Dawn had taken.

"Of course we are!" May said, "Wait…you guys know too?"

They all nodded, and May cuffed her chin, thinking.

"We have to settle it once and for all; it's just getting too hard for Dawn." She began, but Ash cut her off.

"_And _Paul."

"What are you talking about? _He's _the one who's making her suffer!" Misty replied, putting her hands on her hips in annoyance.

"_She's _suffering?! How do you really think we got our black eyes?!" Ash countered as he pointed at his eye, the black eye barely recognizable now.

"Paul…did that?" Leaf asked, stunned. The guys nodded.

"That's how his hand got injured so badly, he doesn't hit lightly you know." Gary began in a matter-of-fact tone, "You guys don't know how protective he is of her…did you not just see how quickly he jumped after her when she fainted?"

"And Dawn thinks he hates her…" May whimpered.

"I guess there's a lot we all don't know…" Zoey realized as she sat wearily on a chair, she was completely worn out from all that occurred!

There was a long silence, and May began to smile very brightly.

"Hey, I have an idea!" She began as she whispered something into Drew's ear, who smirked.

"Of course you girls would think of something like that."

* * *

Dawn awoke wearily, her legs felt like jello and her head ached. She looked around and gasped.

Since when was she at home, _in her room?! _

"Ah, you're awake!" Her mother said as she came in with a glass of water and some aspirin. "I thought you'd be out longer…" She giggled as she sat at the edge of her daughter's bed.

"H-How did I get here and how long was I out?" Dawn nervously asked as she gladly took the aspirin and water from her mother's hands. She didn't like the look on her mother's face as her mother smiled.

"Oh, you were out for just a half hour but I notified the school saying you won't be back. I figured you would want to rest before you big show tonight." Johanna got up from the bed and kissed her daughter on her forehead before ushering her to lie down.

"B-but how did I get here?" Dawn once again asked, getting a little irritated that her mom was beating around the bush.

"Oh, um, Zoey dropped you off sweetie." Was all she said, Dawn nodded.

Her mother left, leaving Dawn to rest some more. She returned to the kitchen to continue working on dinner but she felt a little bit guilty lying to her daughter….

_**Ding-Dong! **_

"_Coming!" Johanna called out as she set down her mixing bowl and headed towards the door, she gasped on who it was. _

_There Paul stood, holding Dawn unconscious in his arms! _

"_Is she alright?" She asked as she let Paul in, he nodded._

"_She just fainted; I thought it'd be better to bring her home then let her stay in one of those beds at school." He said as he laid her down on the couch. _

"_Oh, well that was really nice of you." She thanked the boy but then, "You know, she never told me that you moved back here..." _

_Paul tensed._

"_Oh?" Was all he could say. What __**should**__ he say?_

"_It's so nice that you care for her so much…Oh! The stove! Can you bring Dawn up to her room please?" Johanna asked as she ran back into the kitchen, Paul sighed. _

"_**It's so nice that you care for her so much.."**__ Paul couldn't get that out of his head!_

_He looked down at Dawn's unconscious figure before picking her up again and heading towards her room. It felt very awkward being in her house after all these years, noting seemed to change at all. And as he walked through the hall, he could recall the time when he and Dawn used to run through them, making a huge commotion as they did so._

'_I must be going crazy." Paul thought as he thought he heard him and Dawn's childhood voices echoing in the halls._

_Finally reaching her room, he set her in her bed. He was about to leave but he couldn't help but notice how strangely, Dawn's room didn't change either. Everything was still very pink, including the stuffed animals in the corner. He smirked, Dawn may have changed physically but she still was a child at heart. He looked at her, her breathing seemed regular by now. _

'_I should leave now…' He thought as he approached the door. But as he headed out, he noticed something familiar on her nightstand._

_A photo. _

_He picked it up and looked at it. It was a picture of Leaf, May, Misty, Zoey, and Dawn all smiling at the camera with ice cream in each of their hands. Of course, Dawn had some on her mouth._

_Paul's eye twitched and was about to put it back down until he noticed the frame. It was a white frame with the words __BEST FRIENDS __in bold blue print running across the border, and it caused the scariest sense of DeJaVu. _

"_This looks familiar…" He said to himself as he looked at it more closely. Curiosity overtaking him, he slowly pulled back the photo of Dawn and her friends. His eyes widened._

_Behind that photo was another photo. It was old and faded but yet it was still in good condition. There stood Paul and Dawn around the age of nine smiling at the camera. Paul just stood there, barely smiling while Dawn grinned from ear to ear, putting bunny ears behind Paul's head._

_He smiled; he'd remembering taking that picture. Dawn got a new camera for her birthday and she urged Paul to be the first one to take a picture with her. At first he said no, but Dawn kept pestering him for the whole day until he had to finally give and take a picture with her. _

_He remembered how happy she was. _

'_Yay! Thank you Paul! I'll cherish it FOREVER!' She kept saying over and over again after the picture was done. Paul could still hear her childish voice._

_He put the picture back in order, sighing. He looked down at Dawn's sleeping figure, she really __**did**__ change._

"_When the hell did you start wearing short skirts?" He growled towards her, "Didn't I tell you not too?" _

_Dawn, being unconscious, rolled over and moaned in her sleep. Paul sighed and headed towards the door. It's not like he'd do anything, but seeing Dawn lay unconscious there in a short skirt really did get to him, and he really didn't trust his hormones._

_He reached the door and stood in the doorway, but before he left, he took a final glance at Dawn…_

_Things could never be the same between then._

_Right?_

_Paul returned downstairs just in time for Johanna to come out from the kitchen. _

"_Oh, you're leaving?" She asked, Paul nodded as he headed for the door but before he left, he paused at the doorway._

"_Can you tell Dawn…that one of her friends dropped her off? I don't want her to know that I did this…" He asked Johanna gave him a sad look before finally nodding. _

"_Thank you." Paul said before leaving. Once he was gone, Johanna sighed. _

"_She really does care for you" She murmured, "…and you really care for her…This isn't right…"_

* * *

Dawn fidgeted in her bed covers, even though her mother told her to rest, she just couldn't! Her mind was still racing, her heart still beating a mile minute!

"Did I imagine that?" She thought aloud. Even though she was unconscious, she could have sworn she heard _his _voice.

"_I'm here…" _

"I-Impossible!" Dawn said as she rummaged out of bed to look at herself in the mirror. She was still wearing her uniform but it was now wrinkly and tattered, probably from sleeping in it. Her face was a little but paler, and her hair was tangled.

"He would never do that! Maybe before he would have…" Dawn continued, her eyes closed, tears forming. "But now it's different!" She finally cried, too painful for her to admit the truth.

It WAS different. Paul and her would NEVER be childhood friends ever again, and hopes of them becoming more…just vanished.

She looked around her room once more, taking in the familiar comfort of her privacy.

"Wait a minute…" Dawn began as she walked over to her nightstand. She picked up the picture frame that supposedly contained her and everyone's trip from the beach but she dropped it from shock on what was there instead.

"T-That picture…" Dawn stuttered as she picked the frame back up. Instead of the picture of her friends, it was that old picture of her and Paul…from her childhood…

Dawn clutched it close to her heart, tears forming down her eyes.

Was this a sign? A sign on not to give up and to keep fighting?

Dawn didn't know but she did know that things were changing, but for better or for worse?

That's what she wanted to know…

* * *

"Stunning!" Was all Daisy said as she finished the final touches on Dawn's makeup.

It was the night of the Talent Show and the girls were already in their dressing room. The benefits of having a school that was highly involved in Drama was the multiple dressing rooms back stage, and since Misty's sisters went all out, they got the biggest one! It also helped that they were once the highly appreciated actresses the school had ever seen when they attended the high school

Dawn stood at her reflection in awe; it didn't seem like her at all. She wore a light pink glossy shade of lip gloss on her lips, heavy mascara, and over exaggerated shades of pink eye shadow.

Violet was working on her hair, and when she finished, it was magnificent! Straight hair cascaded past her shoulders, a small diamond tiara placing delicately on the top of her head.

"Dawn, you look so pretty!" May complimented as she rushed over to Dawn. Everyone was fully prepared to head out accessory and makeup wise, but since Zoey was in charge of bringing the costumes and she wasn't here yet, they all wore the black satin robes Misty's sisters provided for them.

May wore a nice shade of red glossy lipstick, a darker pink of eye shadow but less extreme as Dawn's, and black eye liner. She also wore her _M_ top hat but she slanted it to the side, concealing the left side of her forehead.

"Thanks…so do you!" Dawn happily mentioned. Dawn could still remember how nervous she was when May picked her up in her red convertible that evening. Her heart went so fast, she just wanted to get it over with!

Things were also awkward for Dawn when they got to the school because when the entered the halls, they bumped into Paul and the guys…

"Are you feeling okay, Dawn?" Misty asked, snapping Dawn out of her trace. She looked over at Misty and smiled, signifying she was feeling better. Misty smiled in return. Misty, like her sister's promised and much to her dismay, had extensions put in her hair so it went all the way down to her lower back!

"It was a shame though that Misty hates long hair, she looked so pretty!" One of her sister's commented, Misty rolled her eyes.

Her makeup was simple, white sparkling mascara, white eye shadow and a light pink gloss over her lips. Her hair was pulled back by one single diamond clip in her hair as well.

"Dawn…I'm sure things will change after tonight." Leaf consoled as she placed her arm around Dawn in a reassuring hug, Dawn warmly accepted it. Leaf was already in her makeup as well. Her feather was promptly sticking out of her long curled locks and her makeup was exactly was Leaf wanted: She wore a dark maroon shaded lipstick, black mascara and eyeliner, and a assortment of green eye shadows on her lovely green eyes.

"Oops! Dawn you like forgot your necklace!" Lily reminded herself as she grabbed Dawn's necklace from the table next to her and placed it coolly around Dawn's neck. Dawn smiled.

"Thank you…" She said softly, smiling.

"Dawn…you don't have to answer this but why do you wear that necklace so much?" Leaf obliviously asked, May and Misty both shrieked at how dumb Leaf was!

"Cause…it's the only thing that connects me to Paul…" Dawn whispered to herself.

There was a long and painful silence.

They knew Dawn wasn't talking about Paul, but _Paul, _her childhood friend.

They were about to speak up but suddenly, the dressing room door burst open!

"Hey Guys!" Ash shouted, excited.

"Ash!" Misty screamed as she punched him hard against the head, "You never EVER go into a girl's dressing room without HER say-so!"

"Okay, I want everyone to stop hitting me!" Ash screamed as everyone sweat-dropped. No one really ever took Ash seriously anyway.

Ash walked in wearing his band gear. He wore a black t-shirt with the sleeves at the end ripped, ripped jeans, a black choker, and a black baseball cap worn backwards. Misty was so shocked, he looked so hot!!

"Ash, you don't walk in on us! We could have been naked!" Leaf shouted.

"Naked?" Gary curiously poked his head out of the doorway before walking into the dressing room as well. Leaf turned a bright red, not because of Gary's comment but what he was wearing!

He was wearing a white oxford shirt with most of the top buttons unbuttoned, showing off some parts of his well built chest, and a black tie tied loosely around his neck. Leaf couldn't also help but taking note of his ripped black jeans as well.

"Hey Leaf…" Was all Gary flirted as he looked the other way.

"Hey…" Leaf murmured, looking the other way as well.

Misty saw this and raised an eyebrow towards May's direction, who snickered.

"Did we seriously miss something?" May giggled, Gary and Leaf turned bright red.

"N-No!" They both cried out, but as they glanced at each other, they turned a darker shade of crimson before looking away!

"Finally, we found you guys!" Drew complained as he entered the room, Paul followed.

"How original Maple, _love_ your costumes!" Drew complimented sarcastically.

"Idiot! If you actually had a brain cell, you would know that these are _robes, _you wear them when you don't have your outfit yet!" May remarked.

"And I _love_ you makeup.._._" He teased in his best girl voice, May glared at him. But as she did so, her face began to turn red. Drew, being the lead of the band, looks so hot that May didn't even want to admit it! He wore a white wife beater shirt, a black fedora slanted to the side, a red bandanna wrapped around his upper arm, and black jeans!

"Like what you see?" He remarked, May fumed.

"Why I ought to-!" She began but suddenly, a dashing figure stormed in the room.

"AH! So so sorry I'm late!" Zoey apologized as she panted out of breathe, pink bags in her hands. Everyone gasped, the girls grinned with delight.

"Zoey, your costume is so pretty!" Dawn cheered. There before them stood Zoey, all dressed up and ready to go! She wore black ripped jean short shorts, a black tank top, and a black gentleman's overcoat with the flaps training down towards her ankles! On top of that, she wore black kitten heels!

"And your makeup!" Leaf giggled. Zoey blushed at the remark, she never got used to wearing such revealing outfits. She wore a simple coat of pink gloss, black eyeliner, and blush. That's all that she would ever allow.

"Um wow Zoey!" Ash remarked, Zoey shrieked at the sound of the boy's voice. Since when were the guys in the dressing rooms?!

"Hey-!" She began but the rest just sighed and shook there heads. What was the use of kicking them out anyway?

"Oh, is that my costume?" Dawn asked as she took a pink bag from Zoey, Zoey nodded.

"That's one small bag…" Paul remarked, Dawn just feebly nodded while blushing. She couldn't but notice his outfit, which was a black wife beater shirt, regular ripped jeans, and a red tie wrapped around his neck to give it a formal-causal kinda of appeal. She never knew he had such muscles!

"Zoey is such a lifesaver! First bringing home today and now getting my costume!" Dawn remarked happily, the room went silent.

"Huh? Dawn I never brought you home." Zoey said, Paul eye's widened.

'_No…'_ He thought. She was not going to ruin this!

"Huh? But my mom said that you dropped me off …" Dawn asked, confused. What was Zoey talking about?

"No, P-"

"Of course you did, Zoey!" Paul butted in, "Don't you remember?" He secretly glared at her, Zoey saw this and then her eyes widened.

"U-Um yeah, of course! Anytime Dawn!" She laughed, how could she be so dense?

Dawn smiled then looked at her bag, then the guys, then her bag again.

"Um sorry guys but WE'RE CHANGING!" The girls screamed as they kicked the guys out and slammed the door behind them.

* * *

"Girls…" Drew mumbled as he began to head towards back stage, Ash and Gary followed the same scowl on their face. Paul looked back at the girl's door and started to catch up with the guys.

That was close, _too close!_

"Paul…we were wondering…why didn't you want Dawn to know that that was you who took her home?" Gary asked, Paul sighed.

"Cause she would hate me if she knew…"

* * *

Done! Phew! Sorry for the late update! SOOO SORRY! I knew I promised to put the talent show in here but I had serious writers block for like a month then I had cheering leading and drama club , then book reports, my upcoming research paper, and ah! My head hurts just thinking about it! I swear to God next chapter will have the talent show in it , so please look forward to it! Oh and I finsihed this up in a hurry cause I knew you guys wanted this up badly so if you see any errors or anything please tell me and I'll go back and fix it, lol!

See you next time!


	7. Chapter 7: Welcome to the Moulin Rouge!

It's time for chapter 7

It's time for chapter 7! The one you've all been waiting for, "Welcome to the Moulin Rouge!" Well, this story is winding down since I only plan to have one or two more chapters. And sorry for the delay but this took a while for me to do because 1) writing it , 2) editing it and 3) HOMEWORK! _**Homework is the source of all evil! **_Ha, but enough of that, Here it its! Enjoy!

Oh but before I forget ! _**StrawberryPavlova**_ made a _**AWESOME**_ doujinshi ( fan-makde manga) of Lady Marmalade: Sweet Sweet Revenge! She's the best! Plus Suwamoto made a INCREDIBLE fanart too! Both of you guys rock! Links can be found in my profile!

**HARVESTGIRL10 DOES NOT OWN POKEMON, ITS CHARACTERS, OR THE SONGS LADY MARMALADE OR FACE DOWN, OR THE BEND AND SNAP SONG.**

Lady Marmalade: Performed by Mya, Pink, Lil Kim, Missy Elliot, and Christina Aguilera!

Face Down: Performed by Red Jumpsuit Apparatus. (The non-scream version please…XD)

Bend and Snap: From Legally Blonde the Musical, performed by the Greek Muses. (I actually prefer the live performance audio than the CD audio, lol)

It'll add atmosphere if you listen to the songs while reading the performances!

42 pages….that's nearly double of what I normally write! ( sweat-drops)

* * *

"Dawn, hold your breath!" Daisy instructed as she tried her best to tighten the corset over Dawn's chest. Dawn held on for dear life to Leaf's shoulders! Everyone was in their full attire already but sadly, Dawn insisted on putting on the corset at the last minute so suspense was in the air.

"I _AM_!" Dawn lashed back, annoyed how incredibly _painful _this was.

'_**Dawn, it has to be tighter for the performance**__. UGH! YOU WEAR IT THEN!' _Dawn mocked in her head as she recalled how Misty's sisters kept telling her that it had to be tight. And when they meant tight, they meant TIGHT!

"So Dawn, any comments on our oh so lovely performance?" May asked as she stuck her infamous camcorder into Dawn's face. Dawn sweat-dropped.

"May, y-your not recording are you?" She stuttered, and to her horror, May nodded.

"Of course! I need to make an excellent video for film class and what better subject could I film then the pre-show jitters that we all are experiencing?" She chirped.

"Well not when I'm in the middle of this torture-AH!!" Dawn screamed as Daisy got fed up with Dawn's talking. She pulled the corset as hard as she could, frankly, she could now care less about Dawn's comfort.

"All done!" She said in a sing-song voice as she rubbed her hands, a pleasant tone in her voice.

Dawn let go of Leaf's shoulders and stood there, gasping for air. She looked in the mirror and sighed, but when she did, she quickly sucked in her breath. She could barely breathe!

"How can I sing when I can barely even breathe?!" Dawn complained as she took a good look at herself in the mirror. Everything was in order, her costume was fully on and her makeup looked fantastic. All she needed now was to go up on that stage and perform.

_Perform._

"Relax Dawn, if you can talk, you can sing." Misty reassured as she patted Dawn's back.

"That's right!" Leaf agreed.

"And not to mention how irresistible you look!" May complimented from behind her camcorder. "Spin around for the camera dah-ling!" She added in a mock accent, Dawn just smiled and turned around, fully displaying her 'outfit'.

"Oh! OH! Us too!" Leaf giggled as she grabbed Misty as they both struck poses for May's camera.

"Marvelous! Hello A+!" May cheered as she captured the footage.

"Enough Girls," Violet instructed. "Now, we have to go to check to make sure that the props are on their way to the school so stay put!" The girls left in single file, and as they did, the other resumed back to their tasks.

"So Dawn, you still haven't answered my question. Any comments?" May once again asked Dawn, who was a bit preoccupied with fiddling with her corset, trying _anything _to make it more comfortable.

"Um," She started as she looked into the camcorder, "Not really. Just gonna say, be prepared." She winked as she added the last part suggestively, blowing a kiss in the process.

"_Ooh_! My film class would love that remark!" May cooed as she walked away, Dawn shrieked.

"YOU CAN NOT SHOW THAT TO ANYONE! CUT IT!" She screamed as she tried desperately to snatch the camcorder from May. However, May gleefully avoided the effort by jumping to the side. Pretty soon, Dawn was chasing May around the dressing room!

"Gimme that back!" Dawn called after May.

"No!" May remarked teasingly, "The audience will love your smexiness!" She giggled. Leaf and Misty almost fell over from laughing! The scene was too funny!

Dawn turned red at the remark, "C'mon May!" She whined as she gave up and sat on a chair.

"Don't worry Dawn, this cheer you up!" Leaf said as she pushed the play button on their small stereo in the room. A catchy beat began to play as May, Leaf, and Misty began to brighten up.

"No way! You think I can _actually _perform well under all this pressure?!" Dawn began to protest as she turned the song off, red in the face. "Not now!"

"C'mon Dawn! We'll follow just do it! I guarantee it'll cheer you up! " Misty pleaded as she got behind Dawn.

"It'll be fun! Don't be a party-pooper! We always do it at sleepovers! And remember cheer camp?" Leaf giggled as she joined Misty.

"But-!"

"Here, I'll do it too!" May said as she placed the camcorder on the table and joined the trio. Nonetheless, it was still _on. _

"Ugh, fine. But just this once. " Dawn sighed, all her friends cheered. She pushed the Play button once again on the stereo and the song began to play once more.

"Ready? Okay!" Dawn began in mock peppiness, hitting off the number. The others just rolled theirs eyes, Dawn would get over it.

Once it began, the four girls, in synch, rocked their hips from side to side. And after each two beats, they clapped their hands from before continuing to rock back and fourth.

"_Look,_"Dawn began as she placed two peace sign fingers near her two eyes.

"_At. My,_"She trailed them down to her hips…

"_Ass, Look at my Thighs!_" She cheered as she bumped her butt to the side and ran her left hand down her thigh. The others followed her steps in perfect synch.

"_I'm catnip to the guys,_" She placed her hands on her hips and shimmied, an irresistible look on her face.

"_They chase my tail, they drool and pant." _Dawn spun around to the right and crouched down, sliding up suggestively.

"_Wanna touch this,_ _but they can't!" _She giggled as she wiggled her fingers, winking.

"_No!" _May, Leaf, and Misty chorused as they turned to their sides, holding their hands up in a halting position, Dawn led by shaking her head, giggling.

"_All the boys want to come and play, snap my fingers and they obey!" _Dawn sung as she walked towards the left where Leaf was and snapped her fingers.

"_Why do they follow me around all day?" _Dawn asked the others as she put her hands up in an _I-don't-know _gesture, approaching the other side to May.

"_Watch me walk while I walk away and I-" _

"_Bend and -SNAP!" _The four sung as they all slid their hands down their thighs towards their legs, then snapping back up in a perfect straight pose.

"_Feel how hot it's getting!" _Dawn fanned herself.

"_Bend and-SNAP!" _They repeated again, doing the same movements only to the opposite side.

"_And when you got 'em sweating!" _Dawn cheered as she wiped her brow, kicking up one of her legs.

"_Spring the trap!_" All four girls mock-pounced.

"_They cheer and clap!" _May, Leaf, Misty, and Dawn then clapped, trying their best from bursting into giggles.

"_No Time Man!" _Leaf and Misty sung as they bent down.

"_Candy Man!" _Dawn and May sung as they did the same.

"_It's the BEND AND SNAP!" _They all finally cheered as they snapped back up into four poses. After that, May pushed the STOP button and giggled.

"See, wasn't that fun Dawn?" She asked as she picked up her camcorder.

"What?" Dawn asked as she was panting out of breath, she couldn't breathe because she was laughing so hard!

That and maybe the corset…..

"See, told you we would have fun!" Leaf rejoiced as she hugged Dawn. Dawn didn't bother to shake her off.

"Can I come in?" A voice asked as the door knocked. The four girls slipped on their black robes before opening the door only to find Zoey, still wearing her attire, standing there with a blue paper bag in her hands.

"Got the goods?" Dawn asked in an all serious voice, the others stood behind her with the same expressions on their faces.

"Yup!" She laughed, "Now you guys better it eat it quickly, I think I saw your sisters on the way here." She added, informing the last part to Misty.

The four girls fiercely shook their heads as they quickly snatched the contents out of Zoey's bag. In each of their hands was a HUGE chocolate bar. Before they could even cherish the moment, they quickly tore open the wrapper and dug into the irresistible treat.

* * *

Ever since they started practices, Misty's sisters _BANNED_ anything unhealthy or fattening. They claimed that it would go all right down to their thighs and waistlines, and since the clothes were very revealing, _**they had to listen**__!_

_No exceptions._

"_From now on, all four of you shall be on a strict diet. No fast food, no ice cream,"_

_Misty shrieked._

"_No soda, anything fried, and most certainly, NO CHOCOLATE!" All three valley girls commanded, causing all four girls to shriek in terror!_

"_EVIL! PURE REINCARNATED EVIL!" Dawn bellowed as demon eyes appeared on her face, her friends had to hold her back from killing the trio! The three just stood there, however, smirking. _

_They all actually found this quite amusing._

* * *

"It's been so long!" Misty sighed as she finished her bar. Of course, since she had to live with her sisters, it was VERY difficult to cheat on the strict diet.

"I know!" May moaned in delight, suddenly though, her ears perked up. A sly look was on her face.

"Please be fortunate that I was able to get these! Do you know how many _stares _I got in the convenience store? Wearing this?!" Zoey displayed, showing off her somewhat revealing outfit.

"Well, be lucky that you're not wet! I heard that it's supposed to downpour tonight." Leaf mentioned as she ate her bar happily.

"I heard that too! They said that it's probably going to be the heaviest rainfall this year!" Misty added.

"Hey Zoey, want to see our dance?" May snickered as she picked up the camcorder from the table and ended the recording session, causing the device to make a small _plink _noise.

"_EH_?! You recorded that?! I don't want anyone to see how idiotic and foolish I look!" Dawn once again, shrieked, dropping her wrapper on the ground from shock.

"Calm down girl, just look." Misty insisted as May began the video. Dawn watched, humiliated, as the video played. It showed her blow a kiss at the camera, and then it got all shaking when May began to run around the room, and then it showed their dance. Dawn's eyes widened in fascination, did she really look that confident?

"See? Why are you so nervous? You look_ totally_ confident in this video and you _definitely _will look confident on stage." Zoey smiled, Dawn sniffed as she looked at her four friends.

"You Guys!" She cried as she hugged her friends into a big group hug. She saw what they were doing. They wanted to _show _her that there was no reason to be nervous, that she really was _amazing, _and that she shouldn't let anything bring her down.

_**WHAM!**_

The girls broke apart in surprise as the door opened. Turns out, Drew slammed open the door with his foot, an annoyed expression on his face. The other guys soon followed in.

"What are you guys doing?!" May yelled.

"Nothing." Drew said as he looked the other way, slightly smirking. May furiously fumed.

"What are you talking about Drew? Just before you said you wanted to go see May-OW!" Ash cried as Drew sharply elbowed him in the stomach, May turned a light pink.

"Ooh, so that's how it is." Leaf, Misty, and Dawn cooed towards May and Drew. May turned a deep red while Drew clenched his teeth, trying his best not to blush.

"Hey May, how do you turn this off?" Zoey asked as she tried her best fiddling with the camcorder. May, almost too quickly, directed her attention towards Zoey's request.

She was a little bit too anxious to get out of that scenario!

"You just push this and then ta-dah!" May cheered, a little bit too loud as she raised her hands up in a _ta-dah _pose. Everyone sweat-dropped as May began to giggle awkwardly, she really was trying her best to get over the incident!

"What were you guys even doing with a camcorder?" Drew asked, clearing the awkward silence.

"It's nothing, just for my film class." May fumbled as she looked down at her camcorder, blushing. Drew slightly smiled at her.

Dawn saw this and smiled secretly. She knew that May liked Drew, and she knew that Drew liked May. Even though they would fight or bicker towards each other, they still had that attraction. An attraction that was stronger than anything. They reminded her so much of…_him…_and…_herself_…_**when they were close**_…

Dawn took a quick glance at Paul, who was leaning against the doorframe, emotionless like always. She couldn't help but be a bit envious of her friend…

"Hey, aren't you guys heading on stage soon?" Leaf asked Gary, who nodded.

"Are you guys going to watch from the sidelines, cheering?" He smirked, Leaf's brow furrowed.

"Yeah, _of course_ we will." She reassured sarcastically, Gary rolled his eyes. However, a blush was slightly visible on both their faces.

Dawn once again, secretly smiled.

Once again, _she envied._

"Um, by the way Mist, did your sisters order that _thing _yet?" Zoey asked, Misty thought for a while and nodded happily.

"Yup! It'll be on the way!" She giggled.

"What are you guys talking about?" May asked, Misty whispered into her ear before May began to smile brightly, Leaf overheard and smiled too.

"Just pray that it's the right size!" Leaf added.

"Um, can you guys clue me in?" Dawn asked, her hands on her hips.

"Clue you in on what?" They all asked obliviously as if they never had the discussion, which caused Dawn to sweat-drop!

"_Next up! Gary, Ash, Paul, and Gary!_" Kenny's voice echoed throughout backstage.

"Looks like you guys have to go." Dawn said, trying her best to avoid eye contact with Paul. Her heart was still recovering from before!

'_I don't want to ruin that gaze…' _That kind image of Paul once again entered her mind and her heart fluttered. '_I don't want to ruin it with another scorn!' _She cried.

"Let's rock!" Ash cheered as the guys turned to exit. Paul, like he always does, slapped Ash against his head for the remark.

"Ow! What the-?!"

"Rock on, Ash!" Misty suddenly cheered. Ash looked back and stared at Misty in awe. Misty stood there and blushed.

Did Misty just support one of his stupid remarks?!

"Yeah, rock on." He said in almost a whisper. Misty looked down at her feet, and blushed a bit.

'_She looks nice with long hair…'_ Ash thought with a smile.

And with that the guys turned, and left into the darkness of the backstage.

"Hey, what are you guys waiting for?! Let's go watch them!" May laughed happily as she rushed out of the dressing room, after the guys.

"Hey, wait for us!" Leaf called after the brunette, dragging Misty with her.

It was only Dawn and Zoey left in the room…

"C'mon, we better make sure they don't break something." Dawn giggled as she was about to leave the room but Zoey grabbed her wrist, preventing her from leaving. Dawn looked back at her friend in surprise.

"Are you alright?" She asked, like a concerned friend should.

"I-I'm fine." Dawn replied, her voice a little shaky.

"Things are going to be alright Dawn. I…I saw how you looked at May the others… Zoey murmured.

"O-Oh, that. Zoey, I'm happy for them, I truly am." Dawn weakly smiled, Zoey saw this and smiled.

"You know, you remind me a lot like that actress in that movie. You're really strong." Zoey kindly remarked. Dawn was about to tear up!

"Zoey!" she cried as she embraced her friend, her friend warmly hugged her back.

"Dawn…I don't think he hates you…I really don't…"Zoey began; Dawn slowly, doubtfully, nodded as she broke from the hug.

"Zoey…" Dawn began; Zoey looked at her.

"I…" The soft whisper of Paul's words echoed through her heart.

"_I'm here…"_

"I really…don't know…what to think anymore." Dawn finally said as she tried her best from tears to spill from her cerulean eyes.

* * *

Dawn and Zoey barely managed to find their way through the darkness of the backstage, with only a blue dim light for support. Once they finally reached the others, Dawn heaved a sigh of relief!

"There you guys are!" Dawn laughed as she gave her friends each a hug. Leaf, May, and Misty were already on the deck, right behind the curtains of the stage. They all were anxiously awaiting the performance of the guys, even though, they wouldn't _admit _it.

"Oh god…look at them…" May rolled her eyes as she caught a glimpse of Drew completely goofing off around with Ash on the stage behind the closed curtains. Drew apparently stole one of Ash's drumsticks and he was playing a fun little game of keep-away from the black-headed boy.

"I know…so immature right?" Misty added, both brunette and red head stared at the two in awe.

"_Hellooooo? _Earth to Misty and May? Snap out of it!" Dawn snapped her fingers in front of the two, who jumped. They looked quickly back and forth before putting their glare faces back on the guys, restoring the whole "i_-can't-stand-them" _feel. Leaf, Zoey, and Dawn just sighed.

Completely and hopeless in love the two were.

"I just can't believe how dark it is back here, Dawn you never told us!" Leaf mentioned, Dawn's eye twitched.

"Yeah…last year…don't really wanna talk about it…."Dawn mumbled.

"Oh! I'm sorry Dawn! So Sorry!" Leaf apologized. She knew better than to bring up _that _subject!

"Hey look, there starting!" Zoey pointed out, they girls quit their talking as the curtains opened, and the whole place was hushed.

"_May I present, Drew, Paul, Gary, and Ash!" _Kenny announced as he walked off the stage. Suddenly, the spotlight hit Drew, who smirked. The _entire_ female audience screamed and cheered.

"We love you Drew!!" A group of fan girls cried.

"No, you!" Drew smirked, flicking is hair. This caused everyone to cry and shout again!

May fumed from behind the scenes, she had to restrain herself from tackling Drew on the spot!

'_So obnoxious!'_ May clenched her teeth.

"May, your blushing." Zoey remarked, May silently shrieked as she regained her composure!

* * *

There the guys stood on the stage, completely basking in their glory. On the right stood Paul, looking completely bored, holding up his black electric guitar and on the left stood Gary, smirking, holding up his base guitar. In the back, but yet could still be scene clearly, was Ash, holding up his drumsticks in a victory pose. And finally, stood Drew in the middle of them all, standing there with a mic stand in front of him.

Dawn looked at Paul secretly from behind the new stage curtains…

* * *

"_You know, I always wanted to play guitar." An 8-year old Paul said as he and Dawn swung on the swings, the blue-headed child just giggled._

"_What's so funny?!" Paul turned red, Dawn laughed even harder!_

"_You'd make a great guitarist, Paul!" She said cheekily as she smiled brightly. Paul turned a light pink before looking down at his feet and saying, "And I think you'd be a good singer too." _

"_Hee! Thanks Paul!" Dawn cheered as she jumped off her swing to hug Paul. _

"_We should make a band!" She kept giggling and giggling._

"…_Whatever." Paul said, still pink-faced, trying to shove Dawn off._

_She wouldn't budge._

"_We should name it the Cupcakes!" Dawn suggested, still giggling. _

"_**NO!" **__Paul almost screamed._

"_Pleassseeeee!" Dawn begged._

"_If you stop begging and forget the name, I'll bring you a cupcake tomorrow." Paul mentioned, Dawn smiled!  
_

"_Okay!" She hugged her friend once more, completely forgetting the idea of a band._

"_Let's go home, it's getting late." Paul said as he took note how the sun was setting._

"_Fine. But don't forget, I want chocolate!" Dawn called after him as she tried catching up with Paul, who already started heading home._

_Things were so simple back then…_

* * *

"Dawn!" Misty whispered loudly, causing Dawn to break from her memory.

"Wha…?" Dawn asked, still in a daze.

"You okay?" Misty asked as she tilted her head, Dawn was quick to nod!

The two, along with the other girls, directed their attention back on stage.

Ash began to bang on his drums in a catchy rhythm while Drew took hold of the mic, waiting patiently for his turn. Paul strummed onto his power chords, causing the whole room to burst into lyrical rhythm. Gary followed with his base.

'_**Why does my mind always drift to you…?**__'_ Dawn thought as she watched Paul, a sorrowful and daze-filled expression on her face.

"_Hey girl you know you drive me crazy_" Drew sung has he clutched the microphone stand with both hands, his fedora slightly slanted over his left eye.

"Ack! They're good! Drew! He stole my bit! He stole my bit!" May gasped her hand to her mouth in shock, referring to how Drew's fedora was now slanted to the side like hers. The others stood there, their mouths in perfect Os. However, Dawn stood there, her eyes were solemn and a small blush crept over her face.

Why this song…why?

"_One look puts the rhythm in my hand" _Paul and Gary followed while they still strummed heavily on their chords,

"_Still I'll never understand why you hang around," _

"_I see what's going down." _Drew sung as she looked on to the audience, nodding his head in understanding.

Just then, Paul ripped on his chords, his guitar blasting.

"_Cover up with make-up in the mirror," _Drew sung, Dawn's heart began to beat fast!

_**Dawn stood at her reflection in awe; it didn't seem like her at all. She wore a light pink glossy shade of lip gloss on her lips, heavy mascara, and over exaggerated shades of pink eye shadow.**_

"_Tell yourself it's never gonna happen again," _

Dawn closed her eyes, her body shaking.

'_**Not this song, please not this song!' **_She begged.

"_You cry alone," _pounded on his drums harder as the other guys kept in beat with the music, Paul ripping on his chords. Hurtful memories filled Dawn's mind and heart.

"_**WHY THE HELL AM I STILL IN LOVE WITH **__**HIM**__**?!" She finally cried, her knees falling to the floor.**_

"_And then, He swears he loves you!"_ Drew sung loudly into the mic, raising his fist into the air. The female population in the audience now had hearts all over their eyes, all chanting his name.

"_**I'll always protect you."**_

"D-Dawn?" Leaf asked as she got a glimpse of Dawn, shaking. However, Dawn couldn't hear her.

"_Do you feel like a man?" _Drew sung as he burst into the refrain. Paul and Gary followed in a perfect melody; Ash continued to beat hard on the drums.

"_**I-I missed you so much!" Dawn said, as she saw his eyes flicker into an angry glare. She didn't know how to react, what was WRONG with him?!**_

"_When you push her around?" _Drew continued to sing. Dawn's heart began to break. She could no longer stop the painful images from flooding into her head.

"_Do you feel better now?" _

"_**No! Paul!" Dawn shouted as she lunged after him, arm out, tears in her eyes. She grasped his arm, and caught hold on him.**_

"_As she falls to the ground," _Drew sung as she swayed slowly from side to side, moving the mic stand with him.

_**He gave her an angry glare as he shoved her off, causing Dawn to fall to the ground in pain.**_

"_**Ah**__**!" She cried out in pain.**_

"_Well I'll tell you my friend," _Drew declared as he pointed out towards the audience. The rest of the guys continued to pound on their instruments.

"_One day this world's going to end!" _

Dawn kept her eyes on Paul, her eyes were tearing up!

"_And as your lies crumble down," _Drew sung as he motioned his left hand down.

"_**Remember," Paul whispered to her softly as he pointed to the necklace, "As long as I'm here and as long as you want it, I'll forever keep that promise." Paul reassured her, referring to his and Dawn's engagement.**_

"_A new life she has found!" _Drew sung out loud as he carried the note.

Paul strummed his guitar heavily as sweat began to trip of his forehead, Gary followed soon with his base.

"_A pebble in the water makes a ribble effect," _Drew sung as a dozen of lights began to flicker onto the band.

"_Every action in this world will bear a consequence!" _Drew declared as he pumped his fists into the air.

"_If you wade around forever, you will surely drown!" _

_I see what's going down." _Drew sung as he once again nodded his head in understanding.

"_I see the way you go and say your right again," _

'_**Paul…'**_ Dawn cried as she tried her best for tears not to trickle down her eyes.

"_Say your right again," _

'_**Paul…!" **_Dawn's gaze drifted towards Paul, who was too occupied in his guitar to notice her.

"_Heed my lecture!"_

'_**Are you even listening to the song you are playing?!' **_Dawn cried.

"_Do you feel like a man?" _Drew continued to sing as he narrowed his eyes at the audience.

"_**Oh now I remember, that annoying girl who lived across from me, who wouldn't leave me alone."**_

"_When you push her around?" _

"_**What are you saying?!" Dawn cried, trying not to break down. Why was he doing this?! To her?!**_

"_Do you feel better now?" _

"_**I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT THE HELL YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT! LEAVE ME ALONE!" He bellowed as he began to walk away.**_

"_As she falls to the ground," _Drew sung.

_**He gave her an angry glare as he shoved her off, causing Dawn to fall to the ground in pain.**_

Dawn began to shake her head slowly; she covered her temples with her hands!

Her friends saw this and they put an arm around hers for comfort. However, Dawn could not feel the embrace. All she could feel was cold.

"_Well I'll tell you my friend, one day this world's going to end!"_

"_As your lies crumble down, a new life she has found!" _

"_Face down in the dirt," _Drew sang as he took the mic off the stand and held it to his mouth in all seriousness. Paul strummed a little bit slower on his guitar, and Gary added a few strong power chords into the mix. Ash beat fervently on his drums.

"_**Paul…Why?" **__**Dawn murmured to as she pushed her arms up, so that she was partially lying on the cold concrete. She looked up to Paul, crying, and only to find him with a smug smile on his face.**_

"_She said, this doesn't hurt!" _

"_**I-I'm fine." Dawn replied, her voice a little shaky.**_

"_She said," _Drew once again carried the note.

_I finally had enough!!" _He shouted. Dawn felt woozy but her friends held her up, making sure she stays well. She could not stop the painful images…

"_**I…want that revenge…**__**I WANT IT SO BADLY!" **__**Dawn finally screamed in her tears, it was just so hard. Why did it have to be this hard?! And now, Paul Shinji is going to regret everything he's down to her, every time he made her cry her heart out.**_

"_Face down in the dirt," _

_**Dawn helped herself up off the toilet seat she was sitting on and looked in the mirror, only to find herself with a tear-stained face.**_

"_She said this doesn't hurt!" _

"_**Get lost pathetic girl, you already wasted enough of my time." Paul finally said as he walked away from the scene. Dawn's vision blurred from tears as she saw Paul's back walking away from her.**_

"_She said," _

"_**ARGH!" Dawn screamed as she chucked the necklace at her vanity, becoming forever lost in the clutter that was settled upon it.**_

'_I finally had enough!!"_

"_**I…don't want it!" Dawn shouted to herself, hoping for her words to make truth.**_

_**But the thing was, Dawn wanted it.**_

_**And She Wanted it Badly.**_

"_One day. She will. Tell you. That she. Has had. Enough!" _Both Gary and Drew sang powerfully into the mic as Drew had ran over to Gary's area for him to sing.

"_It's coming 'round again!"_ Drew sang as he ran over back to where he originally was.

"_Do you feel like a man  
When you push her around?  
Do you feel better now as she falls to the ground?  
Well I'll tell you my friend, one day this world's going to end  
As your lies crumble down, a new life she has found!" _

Drew continued to sing as he placed the mic back on the mic stand , clutching it tightly. Gary and Ash both began to chorus with Drew.

"_Do you feel like a man?" _

"_When you push her around?" _

'_Oh…" _Ash and Gary sang,Paul just concentrated on playing heavily on his guitar.

"_Do you fell better now?!" _Drew painfully sung.

"_Oh…"_ Gary and Ash still sang,

"_As she fall__s to the ground?!" _Paul pounded harder and harder on his guitar, his eyes had somewhat of a determined expression on them.

"_Well I'll tell you my friend, one day this world's going to end  
_

Dawn couldn't take this….

"_As your lies crumble down a new life she has found!"_

"_Face down in the dirt!"_Drew swayed back and forth with the mic stand.

Dawn couldn't take it anymore! She flung back the comforting arms of her friends and ran back to the dark backstage, tears streaking her face and makeup!

"_She says, this doesn't hurt!"_

Dawn kept on running, she could still hear the song! She could still hear the powerful guitar, _Paul's Guitar!_

"_She says, I finally had ENOUGH!"_Drew finished by powerfully singing into the mic.

Dawn heard Paul end the note with a heavy key before finishing, but she didn't care. She kept running and running until she finally reached the dressing room, she stopped abruptly before falling to her knees and crying out a tearful scream.

* * *

"Wow! Wasn't that AMAZING?!" Kenny called to the audience as he jumped back on stage, a mic in his hands. The whole entire female audience _SCREAMED!_

"Drew!Drew!" They all chanted.

"Let's have a round of applause!" Kenny cheered.

Everyone burst into applause and the guys basked in it. Drew flicked his hair, Ash waved his drumsticks around, Gary smirked, but Paul just stood there.

He looked backstage where the girls were watching and noticed May, Leaf, Zoey, and Misty looking around.

Where was Dawn?

"Now we will now host a half hour intermission before our final act. Please do look forward to it!" Kenny shouted out to the audience, everyone cheered!

"She just bolted right out…" Leaf asked, stunned.

"It must have been too hard for her…" Misty murmured.

"Did you guys see her though? She was crying…" May added, tears forming up in her own eyes.

"Hey! Did you guys see us?" Drew asked as he ran up the girls, a big smile on his face.

"Yeah…" May whimpered. Zoey put a hand on her shoulder while the others tried not to stifle a cry.

"Something's wrong." Drew figured as Ash hand Gary joined them, the same worried look on their face.

"It's- It's Dawn, she was taking your song really hard. I guess…it brought terrible memories…" Leaf said as she folding her arms over her chest, a sad look in her eyes.

"Damn, I knew changing the song was a bad idea." Gary clenched his teeth.

"Don't worry though, with our plan, what could go wrong?" Zoey brought up, everyone's sad face turned bright.

"Right." They all said.

"What are you guys up to?" Paul asked as he approached the gang suspiciously.

"N-Nothing!"

* * *

"Now let's see…this went like this and that went like that. Perfect!" Dawn marveled at herself as she fixed her makeup perfectly from scratch!

Dawn was all alone in the dressing room and since all her tears streaked her makeup, she was forced to wipe it all over and reapply it!

"Is that skill or what?" Dawn giggled as she added the final touch to her eyes. She twirled around before the mirror, marveling her work. But before the happiness and giggles could even last, Dawn frowned.

What had come over her? It was as if almost of those painful memories flooded back to her…she just couldn't handle it…

"Relax Dawn, it'll only make you stronger…"Dawn reassured yourself as she looked in the mirror, as if talking to herself.

"Dawn!"

Dawn jumped from what she was doing and turned around to see May, Misty, Leaf, and Zoey waiting for her!

"Oh, hey guys!" She greeted, a smile on her face.

"Your okay?" Misty asked, stunned.

"Hm? Oh, yeah. No need to worry!" Dawn laughed.

"That's when we worry the most…" Her friends sweat-dropped, Dawn laughed nervously!

"But hey, about twenty more minutes and we'll be on the stage, _owning_ it." May reassured as she patted Dawn's back.

"Oh My God!" A voice from outside the room screamed, the five girls looked out the door curiously.

There stood Drew, Ash, Gary, and Paul, all looking very disturbed.

"Oh God, What's wrong now?" Zoey asked as she placed her hands on her hips. The five girls walked out into the halls and stood before the four guys.

"Look at the window! There are at least 5 moving vans out there! And they're all unloading props!" Ash shouted, all the girls snickered.

"What's so funny?" Gary asked, annoyed.

"Nothing…" May giggled, trying her best not to laugh. "Nothing!" She laughed out, unsuccessfully.

Just then Zoey's cell phone rang! The red head curiously checked the ID, smirked, the flipped opened her phone. "Hello?" She answered coolly.

"Mmhm, yeah sure, we're right outside the door of the dressing room…" Zoey said as she replied to the speaker on the phone, everyone looked at her, wondering who she was talking to.

"Oh Yeah! I can't wait to see their faces, alright Bye." Zoey closed her phone and looked at the girls.

"Your sisters are back…" She told towards Misty, the four girls moaned.

"Your little managers?" Paul smirked.

"…and they brought you guys' presents." Zoey then snickered; the girls gave a confused look.

"Presents?" They all asked in unison, even the guys looked stumped!

All of a sudden, HUGE screams of fan girls echoed through the backstage.

"Um…Drew?" Leaf asked curiously towards the green teenager, Drew shrugged his shoulders.

"Don't look at us, _we're _not over there!" He stated, slightly jealous that some _else _was getting the attention.

"Excuse us, coming through!" Lily cried as she and her sisters pushed through the mob of girls, who were all circled around whatever was causing all the attention.

The three Sensational Sisters brushed their skirts before looked at the four girls, a big grin on their faces.

"What's going on?" Dawn asked, taking extra precaution in her voice. Seriously, what is up?!

"Um…"Misty stuttered as she looked at her sisters, who where just staring at them, BIG grins still on their faces.

"Zoey," Daisy began sweetly, "Did you tell them?"

"Nope!" Zoey laughed, Dawn, May, Leaf, and Misty snapped their heads towards the redhead!

"Tell us!" The protested.

"Are we missing something?" Ash asked as he looked at Gary and Drew, who just shrugged their shoulders as they watched Dawn and co. press questions on Zoey. Paul stood there, arms crossed and annoyed like always.

"I highly doubt that it should concern us." He stated, annoyed.

Oh, was he _WRONG._

"Girls, may we present…"The sensational Sister said in unison as they stood side by side, "A Present from Us to You!" They moved aside, hands in a "here- it- gesture!"

Dawn, May, Misty, and Leaf flinched. "You're giving us fan girls?" They asked as they only saw a mob of fan girls in front of them.

"What…? Oh for the love of-!" Violet cursed as she dispersed the crowd of girls by screaming and hollering at them. The rest of her sisters and the others stared at her, shocked.

Well at least we all now know that Misty ain't the only one who gets happy with a mallet in the family.

"Hmmm, wonder where they went." She pouted as she came to soon realize that _"the girls' presents" _just disappeared as the girls went away!

"I'm sure they maybe got lost…." Dawn said as she tried to calm down Daisy, Lily, and Violet.

'Ugh, C'mon girls. Let's go find them!" Daisy moaned as she dragged her sisters down the halls and out of sight.

"Do you think they'll find them?" Leaf asked, concerned.

"No need to worry!" Dawn giggled loudly, putting a bright smile on her face.

"And that's when I worry the most…" Paul muttered. Dawn turned around to face him, her eyes wide.

Paul stared at her, those soft eyes once returning .Dawn's heart began to beat rapidly, and the whole area was hushed.

"Paul…" Dawn began but all of a sudden, Dawn felt a huge rush. Something stuck in between her legs and jolted her up, WAY UP!

"DeeDee!!" A happy voice cried as Dawn was hoisted onto the person's shoulders into a sitting position.

Dawn looked down curiously on who just did so, and her eyes widened!

"N-No way…Damion?!" Dawn cried happily as she looked down at her old blonde childhood friend. A teenager around the age of Dawn smiled back up at her, his hazel eyes dazzling.

"In the flesh!" He laughed as he bounced Dawn up and down, "Who knew that one small gig would bring you and me together?"

"D-Damion! S-Stop bouncing me!" Dawn shouted as she pounded him hard on the head, "Ow!!" Damion cried.

Damion pouted as he carefully set her down like a perfect gentlemen, Dawn blushed!

Paul clenched his fist, restraining himself for pounding the living day life at of this so called "Damion". The way he looked at her! The way SHE looked at him! His blood was boiling, his eyes narrowed.

"I can't believe it's you!" Dawn rejoiced as she hugged her childhood friend, a bright smile on her face. Damion grinned mischievously.

"_I can't believe that this is you!"_ He mischievously said as he pulled opened her robe slightly, looking down to see her figure. "Since when did you get so developed?!" He laughed.

"_PERVERT!!" _Dawn screamed as she slapped his away, blushing. Damion just stood there, smirking.

Paul, once again, stood there _FURIOUS! _Ash and Drew had to almost restrain him from killing Damion!

"Dawn? Who's this?" Misty finally asked.

"Yes, _please do tell."_ Paul asked wryly, his voice vicious.

"Oh…oh!" Dawn cried as she came into realization of the people around her. Meanwhile, Damion was hugging her protectively.

"This is Damion. I met him at summer camp the summer when I was ten." She said as she tried to struggle out of Damion's grasp. Damion held on tighter!

"And Dawn is probably one of the best girls I've ever met!" Damion cheered as he nuzzled her neck, Dawn didn't seem fazed by it. She was used to Damion's affection, after all, 6 years is a long time.

This caused for Paul's blood to boil even more!

"What where you talking about a gig?" Zoey asked, approaching the two.

"Oh, the guys and I got hired for some extra thing tonight. You know, it pays bills." Damion shrugged, Dawn started to laugh!

"No way! You're our male extras?"

"Is that a problem?" Damion smirked as he held onto Dawn even tighter!

Paul clenched his teeth.

"But the others…" Misty asked, confused.

"Oh we had to split up because of the fan girls, and when I heard that infamous 'No need to worry!' I just had to see it to believe it!"

"Yup, fan girls. What are you gonna do?" Drew said, May just glared at him!

"You guys really seem close." Ash said, Damion nodded.

"I was her first kiss!!" He bragged, Dawn blushed the darkest crimson you could imagine! Immediately she broke from his grasp, and looked down to the floor!

"_HE DID NOT JUST SAY THAT! IN FRONT OF PAUL!!" _Dawn cried as she nervously looked at Paul, who surprisingly, wasn't surprised. His arms where just crossed and that same annoyed expression was plastered on his face.

But on the inside…

Paul's heart broke. He looked at Dawn and at Damion, he couldn't get the image of them kissing out of his mind!

"Kiss? Tell!" May practically begged.

"Well you see," Damion began but Dawn cut him off!

"Shut it!" She cried! However, Damion ignored her by putting his hands on her mouth.

"You see, it was the summer when we were 14, was it? Yeah I think so, and we were at the camp. Close by they had this town and many cafes where there! You should have seen it!" Damion began, May's eyes twinkled! The café-lover listened intently to the storyteller, as well as the others.

Except Dawn and Paul.

Paul stared at her and Dawn stared back, scared.

"_So he'll find out…"_

"The one café, an ice cream parlor, had this wicked ice cream special for couples only and well of course, I had to have it! So Dawn and I pretended to be a couple!" Damion finished cheekily.

"And?" The girls pressed on. The guys gathered behind Paul, they knew their friend was fuming and they knew that his heart was breaking…

He needed the support.

Dawn saw this and shut her eyes closed, "That's enough Damion!" She finally cried out.

"We're not even at the best part yet!" Damion fought back, Dawn had a desperate look in her eyes! She glanced back at Paul, her heart skipping a million beats.

"And the shop owner didn't believe we were a couple so I just grabbed her and kissed her!" Damion continued. "But the thing was…"

"Damion, don't!!" Dawn begged.

"Dawn didn't like it…"He finished, a little bit disappointed. "She said that she rather have someone else…I forget his name…but that summer Dawn was a wreck." Damion tightened his fist. Paul stared intently at the two.

"During camp, she just wasn't her happy self. Lucas and I got very worried; it was so unlike her….She would just start crying for no apparent reason, and whenever we tried consoling her, nothing would work! " He sighed.

"If I ever find the guy who has done that to Dawn, I swear I'll pound him into the dirt!" He cursed as he pounded his one fist into the other, Dawn looked at Paul.

She couldn't read his expression…and she was glad. She did not want to know what was going through his mind right now…now that he has known the truth.

"Ah! Finally! We're back!" Daisy said as she and her sisters rejoined with the group just a few minutes later, behind her she had black collar around three guys' necks!

"What the- Slave traders?" Misty asked, her hands on her hips.

"No silly! These are your extras!" Lily giggled as she released the locks on the boy's necks. "It was like rallying cattle to get them! They wouldn't stand still!"

"Maybe if you would stop giving us death threats, then maybe we would have cooperated!" The boy known as Brendan counted harshly.

"Aw, hush!" Daisy fought back, slapping him.

"Um, care to explain all this?" Gary asked annoyed, edging a little but closer to Leaf. He didn't like the way Leaf was looking at the one guy!

"Um…you see….we kinda have male extras for our performance…." Leaf giggled nervously.

"And Let us introduce! Red!" Daisy began as she put her hands in a _ta-dah!_ pose. In front of her stood Red, wearing regular clothes, his red hair under a red hat. His blue eyes stared dreamily at Leaf, whose eyes glistened!

Gary felt his eyes twitch, his blood boiling!

"Brendan!" A boy who had spoke up from earlier approached May and kissed her hand! His white, not gray, hair dangled slightly over a red headband, his red eyes staring intently at her.

"An honor to meet such a lady," He flirted, Drew clenched his fist! His teeth clenched!

'Charmed." May giggled, raising her eyebrows towards Drew as if saying "_Jealous?"_

"And Lucas!" A boy with blue hair and cerulean eyes approached the group, smiling.

"Holy-! Lucas?!" Dawn laughed as she embraced her friend.

"_Another one?"_ Paul wryly said.

"Deedee-OOf!" Lucas began,

"Don't call me that!" Dawn countered as she harshly punched him in the gut.

"Hey Damion!" Lucas called out towards Damion, who was behind Dawn.

"Hey! Can you believe that our little Dawn is going to be performing, and we're her extras?" He laughed.

"No way!" Lucas laughed as he patted Dawn on the head.

"Alright, so everyone listen up!" Daisy spoke up, clapping her hands. Red, your going to be Leaf's extra! Brendan, you go with May! And Lucas and Damion, you're with Dawn!"

"What about me?!" Misty asked, her voice full of anger.

"Like little sis! Your role doesn't call for an extra…technically you are the mother of the house remember?"

"ARGH! Whatever!" She crossed her arms and looked to the side, annoyed.

"Wait a minute…I get two?" Dawn asked, confused.

"Of course! Since you're the lead!" Violet said as she fixed a little but of Dawn's hair.

"Oh…"

"Lucas! We're going to be Dawn's lead!" Damion said as he high-fived his friend, "Can you believe it?"

"Yeah!" Lucas laughed.

Dawn watched the scene before her. She saw Drew jealous, Gary jealous, and Ash consoling Misty, yet secretly happy. She looked at Paul, and once again, his expression was blank! He wasn't jealous at all….

"Oh! Look at the time! 10 minutes before Showtime! Guys, get into costume!" Lily dictated as she ordered the guys into a dressing room. Once they were gone, The three sisters glared at the girls.

"You! You guys gotta get those robes off and onto the stage, and don't forget the garter belts! And you guys!" They began as they pointed at Gary, Ash, Drew, and Paul, "You four in the auditorium! We have four seats reserved for you in the front!"

"Alright, let's do this people! Chop-Chop!" Violet called out happily, clapping her hands. May, Leaf, Zoey, and Misty both left for the stage while Gary Drew, and Gary left for the auditorium. The three sisters left as well to the backstage to set some last minute details up and it was just Paul and Dawn left in the hallway….

"Well…I guess I have to go…" Dawn murmured as she began to walk away. Her bangs covered her eyes, her heart racing. Now that he knows…what hope could she have?

"Wait," Paul said as he grabbed her arm, preventing her from leaving.

"…." Dawn hesitated as she looked at arm then at Paul. "So what…" She said, breaking free from the grasp. Her voice was cracking, tears were on the verge!

"I have to go get ready. Enjoy the show." Was all she said as she left, leaving Paul alone. Her voice was sad, he could tell, and now was not the time.

Not the time to tell her all the pain that he has endured those past years.

Because of Her.

* * *

"Kya! I'm so nervous!" May giggled as she pounced up and down from the dark dim lights of backstage. The four girls were out of their robes and their costumes were exposed. They couldn't help but refrain from giggles when the stage hands stared at them.

"You guys are gonna put on quite a show!" Zoey giggled, who was still in her outfit, all ready to head out. "I'm kinda relieved I have a small part."

"There are no small parts Zoey! You're very important! "Leaf added, Zoey shrugged her shoulders.

"I just want to get this over with!" Dawn complained as she fiddled with her necklace, it laid nicely on her neck, accenting her figure.

"Dawn, your going to enjoy this and like it!" Misty pressed on, rolling her eyes. Dawn frowned and sighed, giving up.

"Do you know what I heard," May began, " It heard that it'll help if you look directly at the audience cause the lights are so bright that you can't see them!"

"Phew! That's a relief!" Dawn sighed as she fiddled with her corset.

"Dawn! Stop that! If you keep loosening, it'll fall off on stage!" Misty yelled as she went behind Dawn and tightened the corset_ very_ tight!

"AH!" Dawn cried, echoing throughout the whole auditorium!

Dawn slapped a hand over her mouth and everyone giggled.

"I seriously need to be quieter." Dawn sighed as she looked down at her feet.

"DeeDee!!" Two voices cried as arms where locked around Dawn's two arms. Dawn shrieked as she looked behind her, only seeing Damion and Lucas giving her two adorable puppy-dog faces.

"Q-Quit it!" Dawn hissed, the two boys just laughed. They both Damion and Lucas stood, where black suit pants, white oxford shirts with the tops unbuttoned, and a black tied loosely hanging off them. Top of that, they each had one red lip print mark on the right side of their cheeks for effects.

"You guys look so cool!" Leaf marveled as she looked at the two, Damion and Lucas just smirked. Apparently, they saw Dawn's outfit.

"That's definitely not the Dawn we _know." _Lucas teased as they both eyed Dawn's outfit. Dawn blushed then punched him!

"Well take a picture because this will be the last time you're seeing this." Dawn said as she rubbed her hand, sore from hitting him so hard!

"There you guys are!" Brendan cried out as he and Red rushed towards the group, wearing the same outfits as Damion and Red.

"Oh Hey Brendan!" May waved as she ushered him over, she slipped him a five and smiled.

"What's that for?" Zoey asked, May just started to laugh!

"I paid him to flirt with me to get Drew jealous! I wanted to see if he would turned greener than his hair and he did!" May winked.

Everyone laughed as they checked the audience.

"Man, it's packed." Red mentioned as he took a peek from behind the curtain.

"And look, the guys are in the front row!" Dawn said, her voice more shocked than excited. Her face turned beat red….Paul was right there!

--Meanwhile--

"Woah, look at this!" Ash said in awe, looking at the auditorium. Apparently, Misty's sisters not only decorated the stage but the whole area! Red silk draped the walls of the room while golden pearls hung off the edges. The stage's border had a classic 1920s design printed across it, and diamonds were embedded into it. And to top it all off, A GIANT chandelier hung from the ceiling.

"What kind of talent is this? The art of expensive decorating?" Gary asked as he too looked around.

"Let's just see if our little girls could handle the pressure." Drew smirked as he rested his elbow on the armrest. The boys sat in the front row, awaiting the performance. On the left was Gary, then Paul, then Ash, and then Drew.

"Hey Ash, what's that huge sign up on the stage say?" Gary asked as he observed the stage. The special dark red curtains were closed and on top of them hung a huge sign saying " _**WELCOME TO THE MOULIN ROUGE!**_"

"Um, welcome to the Moulin Rouge?" Ash read, Paul's eyes snapped open.

"_What._" He clenched his teeth.

"Something wrong Paul?" Drew asked, his eyebrow raised.

"_She wouldn't-_" Paul spat under his breathe, he knew what was coming next!

Meanwhile Dawn hid behind the curtains of the backstage, her heart racing.

The thing was she _would_, and she was going to do it right this time!

* * *

The whole auditorium dimmed a dark black as Kenny entered on stage, the spotlight shining.

"Everyone, we are glad that you all stayed for our final act. It will surely be like no other. Please, sit back and relax as we-OOF!" Kenny was pushed to the side as Misty's three sisters came onto the stage, wearing three cute little black dresses. The whole crowd went crazy!

Apparently back when Misty's sisters went to High School, they were quite popular.

"Thanks Kenny! We'll take it from here!" The all chirped into the mic.

"Everyone…We are proud to bring you Team Marmalade! The finest of the fine." Lily declared.

"The peak of all desires!" Violet added.

"And the very heart of the show! Now as we introduce our ladies, we would like to say-!" they all chorused as they walked off the stage.

All of a sudden, the lights turned dark and there before in the spotlight, in the middle of the stage, stood Zoey, an old fashioned mic in her hands.

"-_Ladies and Gentlemen! Welcome…to the Moulin Rouge!_" Zoey welcomed as she stepped off the stage, completing the Sensational Sister's statement.

The red velvet curtains pulled back and the audience gasped in awe! The stage was elaborately decorated to fit the Moulin Rouge. In bright lights, the Words "Moulin Rouge" that the boys had noticed earlier shone brightly onto the stage.

On the stage, a mini stage was set up with two floors. The top floor was just one large room that was completely cloaked in sheer sparkling, but not transparent, drapes. Down to the bottom floor was a giant red and gold grand staircase that took up the entire middle area. The bottom floor, aka the actual stage itself, was lavished with hanging silks and diamonds. There where other scenery too but the light wasn't spot-lighted on them, so they have yet to be made out. Out of all of it, lights of all seductive colors lit the area.

It totally had the New Orleans- French Appeal.

To the left area of the stage, a silhouette of a dark woman was visible. She was reclining on a dark red couch and she held a red fan in her left hand, fanning herself. All around her, red pillows were scattered and it gave off the effect that within the huge "Moulin Rouge.", that area was a smaller room.

"What the-?" Ash began as he squinted, sipping on a soda he picked up from the concession stand.

Pretty soon, snapping could be heard.

"_Where are my soul sisters?_" Misty sung as she snapped, becoming fully visible to the audience. Ash spit out his drink! "_Let me hear ya flow sistas!"_

Suddenly, three seductive voices echoed throughout the stage, seducing the audience. Misty's steady snapping kept them on key.

"_Hey Sista!" _They sung as the stage flashed green.

"_Go Sista!"_ The stage flashed blue.

"_Soul Sista!"_ The stage flashed pink.

"_Flow Sista!"_ The all sung together as the stage flashed all the colors.

Ash's mouth went dry as he stared at Misty, his hand gripping his soda tight! Gary saw this and smirked.

"Can't handle it, Ash?" He teased as he tried hard not to laugh.

"_Hey Sista! Go Sista! Soul Sista! Flow Sista!" _The three melodic voices continued to chant. Misty winked at the crowd before suddenly disappearing from a cloud of steam and as the steam settled, the lights darkened to a dark blue and a lone figure. The lights shone brightly and the figure turned around and…

"_He met Marmalade down in Ol' Moulin Rouge!" _Leaf sung seductively as she walked out of the darkness, an irresistible look on her face. She held a whip in her hand and held one edge on the handle and the other on the other end. She spun around and touched the floor, before seductively sliding back up, winking at the crowd.

Gary jolted from his seat!

"_Strutting her stuff on the street!"_ She spun around once more than armed her whip and pointed it at the crowd, rocked her hips, and pretended to shoot it like a gun. The entire stage was flashing different shades of green, letting everyone know that this was _Leaf: The boy teaser. _

Gary stood there in awe before rising from his seat, Drew sighed before heaving his arm onto his shoulder and forcing him back down.

"_She said 'Hello, hey Joe.'" _Leaf faced to the back of the stage and looked back to the audience, running her hands down her body.

"_You wanna give it a go?"_ She giggled as she bent down towards the audience and wiggling her butt, using her whip as support.

'_That did it!' _Gary fumed as he felt his nose running, he wiped it and looked down.

Blood.

"Hey Gary, who's Joe?" Ash whispered.

"Someone dead!" Gary harshly whispered back as he quick stuck a tissue up his nose.

"_Gitchie Gitchie Ya Ya Ta Ta!" _Leaf turned around, slightly blushing as she saw Gary, she shimmied across the stage.

"_Hey Hey Hey!_" Leaf sung as she rocked her hips and flung her hands into the air, cracking her whip.

Meanwhile, Misty appeared on the sidelines of the stage with a feathered clipboard in her hands. Standing besides her was Red.

"_Gitchie Gitchie Ya Ya Here!_" Leaf shimmed down, crouching on the floor. She separated her legs her legs, closed them, and then popped right up! She did this all in one swift movement.

_(Here, Here, Here…)_

Leaf then caught sight of Red and smiled suggestively as she cat-walked towards him.

"_Mocha Choco lata Ya Ya," _She sung as she snapped her whip to the floor, Red gulped! Meanwhile, Gary fumed in his seat.

So _that_ was the purpose of the male extras.

_(Oh yeah)_

"_Creole Lady Marmalade!" _Leaf finished as she grabbed Red by the tie, addressing the part to him. Misty winked as she marked something on her board and left the stage.

"_What What, What What" _Misty's voice could be heard from backstage.

"_Voulez vous coucher avec moi ce soir? Ce soir." _Leaf took Red by the tie and threw him onto an armchair. A seductive look was on her face.

"_Voulez vous coucher avec moi?" _She sung, as well as the other two voices, as she spun the chair around, since the bottom had wheels on it, and secretly, but yet still seen by the audience, she snatched a huge wad of cash from Red's pocket.

"_Yeah Yeah Yeah!" _Leaf winked towards the crowd as she wheeled Red off suggestively, giving the intention that she ready to "get-to-work".

As Leaf disappeared, Gary was sweating!

"Looks like Mr. Pervert here ain't the only who likes it dirty." Drew teased; Gary shot him an angry glare!

Suddenly, the stage began to flash a multitude of reds as the scene was quick to change. The lights shone on another part of the stage where there was a huge canopy bed with black satin sheets, and a large multitude of pillows all over! Over the bed there was a large red transparent canopy and diamonds trickled off it.

And nonetheless, guess whose scene this was?

"_He sat in her boudior as she refreshed up__," _May cat-walked out in front of the bed, her hat slated to the side. She saw the crowd and wiggled her finger, gesturing for them to come closer.

"_MAY?!" _Drewliterally screamed as he blushed a many shades of crimson, his heart pounding.

May saw this and giggled before she continued. She jumped on to bed and stood on top of it, holding the canopy frames for support.

"_Boy drank all at Magnolia wine," _May gestured a drinking move as she shimmed around on the frame, separating her legs as she crouched down. Drew felt some blood trickle down his nose.

'_Oh Crap!' _He thought. Drew, the heartthrob, immune to all girls' temptations, can NOT be shown with a simple nosebleed!

"_Oh, her black satin sheets…" _May ran her legs down her black sheets, tempting the audience.

"_Swear he started to freak, YEAH!"_She sung as she found a green body pillow, kicking it, and managing it to hit Drew right in the face! May saw this and grinned triumphantly.

"_Gitchie Gitchie Ya Ya Ta Ta!" _May slinked down smoothly to the covers and rolled on her side before lounging down.

"_Ta Ta Ta!"_

Suddenly, Drew felt a little bit too happy in a certain area, if you catch the drift.

"_Gitchie Gitchie Ya Ya Here!" _She rolled around, a suggestive look on her face.

Suddenly, Brendan appeared as he walked into the area, looking around, unaware of where he was.

"_Mocha Choco Lata ya ya (yeah)"_May chorused as she looked out of the bed, onto Brendan. She smiled like a Predator would smile when spotting its prey.

Drew's eyes narrowed. She wouldn't!

Oh, but SHE WILL!

"_Creole Lady Marmalade!"_ May wiggled her finger towards Brendan, who unlike Red, boldly approached her.

"_Voulez vous coucher avec moi ce soir? Ce soir." _May sung as she grabbed Brendan by the shirt collar and threw him onto the bed.

"_Voulez vous coucher avec moi," _She sung as she got on top of him, a devious look in her eyes, and closing the curtains so that they no longer could be seen by the audience.Drew was ready to jump on that stage but Ash and Gary had to restrain him!

The bed was wheeled out and the lights began to shine a mix of white and yellows.

"Hmm, that French phrase sounds familiar…" Ash pondered as she cupped his chin.

"_What?!_" Gary and Drew harshly spat as they all glared at Ash. Of course, they wanted to know what the two girls meant by the phrase!

"_Yeah Yeah…Yeah Yeah!"_

"I think it means-" Ash began but once again, spit out his drink.

"_We come through with the money and the garter bags!"_Misty rapped as she strutted her stuff onto the stage, a confident smile on her face.

"_Misty?!"_ Ash thought as he blushed, completely forgetting Gary and Drew's request.

"_Let them know we got the cake, straight up the gate!" _She rapped as she did a dance, shaking her body.

"_We independent women, some mistakes for whores," _She winked as she lounged on her red sofa, picking through a wad of cash that Leaf earlier received.

'_When saying, '__why spend mine?'" _She played through it,

"_When I can spend yours!" _A beautiful voice sung from off-stage. Misty took that as the cue to chuck the wad of cash up into the air, making it rain money.

Paul's eyes widened at the sound of the voice from off-stage.

'_That better not be!' _He fumed.

_**She wouldn**__**'t dare!**_

"_Disagree? Well that's you, and I'm sorry!" _Misty sung as chucked some money over her shoulder like it was nothing, an annoyed look on her face.

"_I'm going to keep playing these cats-" _Misty got up from the sofa and pranced her way to the middle of the stage, Ash gulped.

"_Like Atari!" _The beautiful voice sung once more, once more, Paul _cringed._

"_High heel shoes,__**" **_Misty kicked up herleft foot_, "Get_ _love from the dudes_!" Misty winked towards Ash, who turned bright red!

"_Four badass chicks from the Moulin-Rouge!"_ Misty sung as she stuck out four fingers. Ash gulped, suddenly he felt very hot.

"_Hey Sistas! Soul Sistas!" _Misty paraded around the stage, seductively.

"_Better get that dough sistas!"_She ordered as she pointed to the floor, as if saying, NOW!

"_We drink wine with diamonds in the glass," _Misty sung as she sat back down, fully exposing her figure, drinking champagne. _"Bottle case the meaning of expensive taste!"_

"_We wanna Gitchie Gitchie Ya Ya, Mocha Choco Lata!_" Misty grooved as she once more, exposed her figure.

"_Creole lady Marmalade." _She eyed Ash, and winked, as if only to him. She loved the way he just jumped!

_(__What What, What What) _

"_One more time, C'mon Now!"_Misty pounced up and snapped her fingers, giving the signal that it was all coming down to the finale.

"_Marmalade…" _The audience heard Leaf and May sing as the stage dimmed, the spotlight beginning to center on the upper floor, on top of sheer curtains.

"_Ooh" _A seductive voice sang. Paul's attention increased.

"_Lady…Marmalade…" _They continued to sing as a beautiful dark silhouette of a woman appeared from the curtains in all perfection.

"_Marmalade…"_

"_Ooh yeah…" _Meanwhile, Dawn behind the curtain's heart began to beat like a drum! She could barely see Lucas and Damion next to her from the darkness.

"_Hey," _She sung confidently, although her expression did not show it.

'_**Troublesome.'**_Paul's painful words echoed.

"_HEY," _Dawn sung louder.

"_**You've already wasted enough of my time." **_It came louder and louder! Dawn's rage began to pile up and up!

"_**HEY!!" **_Dawn bellowed beautifully as the sheer curtains opened to reveal Dawn in all her glory, sitting a huge pink throne with Damion and Lucas at her side like pets.

Paul's eyes snapped open, his heart racing!

"_Touch of her skin feeling silky smooth," _Dawn purred as she bent forward towards the crowd, Lucas and Damion both began to touch her skin, cravingly. Dawn simply ignored it, as if she loved being in control.

"_Color of café au lait!"_Dawn playfully swatted the boys' arms away, she ran her fingers along her delicate figure, and over her corset, which fully drawn attention to her chest. Dawn giggled quietly to herself as she caught a quick glimpse at Paul.

His eyes were fuming, hatred was boiling up! He looked around and did not like the way everyone looked at her! They way they envisioned her!

"_Alright," _Dawn got up from her throne and it was only just then that Paul noticed what she was _wearing. _

_**SNAP!**_

Paul's anger reached an all time high, but he had to contain it. At least until the show was over…

Oh, but then his hormones kicked in and he had to restrain himself from literally jumping onto that stage!

"_Savage beast inside," _Dawn sung seductively as she strutted slowly down the middle of the grand staircase to the main floor, Damion and Lucas followed closely behind. The lights dimmed and the flashed on Dawn and only on _DAWN._

"_Roar until he cried!"_ The lights flashed more and more, Dawn's eyes piercing the crowd!

Dawn made her way to the main stage as Damion walked on her right and Lucas on her left. They both looked at her in awe as if she were a wonderful sex-goddess. Paul dug his nails into the armrests, he gritted his teeth!

"_More…"_May sung as she appeared the right of the stage.

"_More." _Dawn echoed as she slipped off her right glove.

"_More…"_Leaf sung as she appeared on the left of the stage.

"_More." _Dawn echoed as she, too, slipped of her left glove.

"_More!!"_All three sung as Dawn waved her gloves in the air before throwing both off stage. She had thrown one onto the left and one onto the right, which caused Damion and Lucas to run desperately backstage to fetch them.

"_Hey!" _Dawn sung as she smiled triumphantly; glad to know that those two would do _anything_ for her.

"_Now He's back home doing Nine to Five!" _May sung as she joined Dawn on the left, sticking out her hand to symbolize number five. Drew jolted!

Just when he thought he recovered!

"_Nine to five," _Dawn harmonized as flipped her hair, she checked her nails as if she was bored.

"_Living the Grey-flannel Life!"_ Leaf sing-songed as she joined Dawn on the right, tossing back a shirt to a shirtless Red who was leaving the stage, giving the idea that "the deed has been done". The whole female crowd roared at the sight of a shirtless Red and Gary cringed!

Dawn then smirked.

"_But when he," _Dawn's eye once again pierced the crowd as a cat-like smile appeared on her face, she gently made a nudged May and Leaf to the side as she appeared on the front and center of the stage.

"_Turns off to sleep,"_ Dawn sung as she motioned down towards the floor, her figure slightly bending down. She grinned as she caught a look from Paul, whose eyes were blazing from fury but yet trying so hard not to show it. The lights dimmed completely dark, only centering spotlights on Leaf, May, and Dawn.

"_Memories keep!" _She sung as the lights only centered on her, she bit her finger suggestively. Whistles and cheers could be heard throughout the audience!

"_More…" _Leaf and May chorused as they stepped forward towards the audience in perfect synch, moving their hands gracefully as they performing a gesture that looked like pulling a rope.

As if they were pulling the audience in.

"_More…"_Dawn harmonized, following their footsteps in the center.

"_More…" _May and Leaf continued.

"_More." _Dawn once again chorused, her eyes now glued to Paul.

"_More!!" _They all bellowed as they turned their backs to the crowd in perfect synch. The lights immediately began to flash bright seductive and out of now where, Misty appeared at their side.

"_Gitchie Gitchie Ya Ya Ta Ta!"_ They all purred as they looked back at the audience in perfect synch, their hands on their hips. They placed their hands on their upper crouch area before rocking their bodies to the left.

"_Ta Ta!" _Dawn sung as she became visible in the middle, obviously leading the group.

"_Gitchie Gitchie Ya Ya Here!"_They all crouched to the floor, separated their legs, and popped back up in perfect synch. Paul and the others jolted!

"_Ooh!" _Dawn sung.

"_Uh huh!" _Leaf chorused.

"_Mocha Choco Lata Ya Ya!" _They all spun around, and faced the crowd before slowly rolling their thighs in a seductive move.

"_Creole Lady Marmalade!" _Dawn belted out a huge note as she and the other girls lowered themselves to the floor in a line, the spotlight shining on them. Paul gulped.

"_Voulez," _Leaf sung as she popped up_._

"_Vous," _May sung as she popped up

"_Coucher," _Dawn sung as she popped up

"_Avec moi," _Misty sung as she popped up.

"_Ce soir," _May sang as she put a finger to her lips in an innocent look.

Paul gritted his teeth as he stared at Dawn.

"Ash…_WHAT.DO.THOSE.WORDS.MEAN?!" _He spat from under his breath.

Ash stood there, thinking. Maybe sleeping in French class wasn't a good thing after all…

"_Voulez vous coucher avec moi," _The girls continued to chant as they now paraded around the stage, giving flirtatious winks to other boys in the audience.

"_All my sistas yeah!" _Leaf declared as she stretched out her hands warmly.

"Um…" Ash pondered, Gary and Drew were trying to shake it out of him while blushing madly! Paul sat there, ready to murder Ash with his glare.

"_Voulez vous coucher avec moi," _Dawn sung solely, Paul glared angrily at her! Why would she do this?!

"Voulez…coucher…avec…!"Ash suddenly jolted from his sleep, bright red in the face.

He finally remembered what those words meant…

"_Ce soir," _Dawn purred. Leaf and May slowly vanished into the darkness.

"What does it mean?!" Paul now threatened, grabbing Ash by the color.

"It-It means!" Ash began, still blushing for the shock of it all.

"_Voulez vous coucher avec moi," _Dawn continued to chant. Misty grinned as she too disappeared into the darkness.

"_WHAT?!_" Paul shook him.

"I think it means, "Would you like to sleep with me tonight?" Ash gasped, trying his best to breathe.

"_**WHAT?!" **_Paul screamed as he stood from his seat, however, this did not stop the show.

"_Oh…" _Dawn smiled victoriously as she disappeared into the darkness.

The dark red velvet curtains closed and the seductive music still played as the spotlight began to dance all around.

"_Dawn," _Zoey introduced as she once again, became visible onto the stage, she extended out her hand as the curtains reopened and there Dawn stood, sitting on her huge throne with Lucas and Damion by her side.

"_Oh Leeea Oh," _She song as she lounged on her throne, kicking one of her slender legs into the air,

"_May,"_Zoey introduced as May appeared on Dawn right, with Brendan wrapped around her little fingers.

"_Lady Marmalade!_" She sung confidently.

"_Misty," _

"_Hey Hey! Uh huh huh huh!" _Misty wrapped as she appeared from on top of the throne, a wad of cash still her hands.

"_Leaf," _Zoey sang as she made her way to the throne.

"_Oh Oh, yeah!" _Leaf appeared on Dawn's left, holding Red by his tie. She winked suggestively at the crowd.

"_Rot wailer baby," _Zoey gestured to herself as she winked.

_(__Baby) _

"_Moulin Rouge!" _She sung.

"_Ooh_!" Dawn snapped her fingers in the air, causing money and confetti to fall from the ceiling.

"Misdemeanor here, " Zoey chanted.

"_Creole Lady Marmalade!" _All the girls finally bellowed, raising their hands in the air.

"_Yes-ah!"_ Dawn sang as the lights all of a sudden turned off, the last image of Dawn on her throne.

The _WHOLE AUDIENCE BURST INTO APPLAUSE!_

'_Why would she do this?!' _Paul cringed as he dug his nails into the armrest of the chairs. Everyone around him stood up and cheered, even Ash and co. bashfully clapped.

Everyone except Paul that is.

'_HOW COULD SHE DO THIS?!'_

* * *

From behind the curtains, Dawn sat there on her throne panting from out of breathe.

She couldn't hear the " Job Well Dones" or the " Congratulations", the only words that she could hear was the sound of her thoughts.

"Take that Paul_," _She panted as she tried her best to breathe from all the dancing and singing,

"Take that…" She murmured as she stared at the closed curtains. She couldn't help but deny a few tears from strolling down her cheeks.

What was wrong with her? She should feel happy and glad! Revenge should be sweet!

"Revenge…should be sweet!" She tried telling her self, her eyes still traced onto the curtains, disbelieving.

What has she done? Why does her heart still pain so?

"_That look in his eyes…"_ She mind quickly rushed to when Paul first saw her, how angry he was…how shameful he was….

Suddenly, tears overwhelmed Dawn as she flung her face into her hands, tears freely rolling off her cheeks.

'_Oh God…What have I done?' _

* * *

FINALLY IT IS DONE! This is like double of what I normally post! I really hope you guys liked it! When I wrote it, I wasn't quite so sure how to describe it. But I think it turned out okay. Oh, and the Bend and Snap part. When I wrote that I was highly addicted to the song plus I was high on sugar, yum. But it kinda fits right? It adds humor.

I thank all of you guys for being so patient and I really want to thank all the members of the SPPF ikarishipping thread, you guys encouraged me so much!

I would also like to thank **_naru-chan13_** for giving me ideas to add the male extras.

The next chapter is when it all wraps up! Please look forward to it!

Ow…42 pages…my hand hurts….


	8. Chapter 8: I Can't Breathe Without You

I'm so happy that you guys enjoyed the last chapter! It was so fun to write!

I don't think this chapter will be 42 pages (sweat-drops), that was just too long! I bet your wondering "Why so long?" well, in past chapters I always promised to put in the talent show and never did. So I decided enough was enough and posted up the talent show, I could care less how long it was since I did NOT want to leave you guys hanging again.

Um, there's going to be ONE MORE CHAPTER after this…( sweat-drops again) I didn't realize how long I was making this and if I finished it up here it would be another 40pager, so one more to go! Please don't be mad…I guess it's something to be happy about! Erm well, enough of that, here it is!

Enjoy Chapter 8 of Lady Marmalade: Sweet Sweet Revenge!

"I Can't Breathe Without You…"

_**I DO NOT OWN POKEMON, ITS CHARACTERS, OR THE SONGS USED. **_

* * *

'_Oh God…What have I done?' _Dawn cried to herself as she flung her head into her hands, ashamed.

The curtains closed and she could still hear the cheering, the roar of the crowd. The sound she craved for ever since she was a little girl…but the more Dawn heard it, more tears streamed from her eyes!

With every clap, every cheer…she knew that _he_ wasn't clapping…

"Ooh…Look!" May whispered to Dawn, "They're gonna open the curtains again!"

Dawn immediately perked her head up, her eyes still wet. She quickly wiped them.

'_I'm…don't want you guys to worry about me anymore…' _

"Go on Dawn, take your bow." Her friends warmly said to her as they all put arms around her. Dawn looked up to them. She saw Damion and Lucas smiling cheekily at her, she saw Misty, May, Leaf, and Zoey all giving her approving looks, and then she stared at the curtain.

"My…bow…?" She murmured to herself.

The curtains opened and the spotlight was once again on Dawn and the others.

"_Let's give Team Marmalade a round of applause!" _Kenny cheered into the microphone, pumping his fist in the air.

The whole audience roared once more as they all, row by row, stood up! Zoey walked up to the center of the stage and bowed gracefully, before stepping back. Brendan, Red, Lucas, and Damion both walked up in front and bowed before reaching out there hands for Misty, May, and Leaf to come up and bow.

They strutted up center-stage, hand in hand, and bowed. May decided to have fun with this and winked at an innocent by-stander carrying popcorn, who tripped at her sight! Leaf and Misty tried their best to burst out into laughter!

Suddenly in all seriousness, smiled spread across their faces as they stepped to the side to reveal a very unsure looking Dawn.

Dawn stood there, she gasped slightly. More and more people cheered! She cautiously walked towards the center stage and bowed deeply and respectfully towards the crowd. And as she bowed down, she managed to choke out a smile from underneath.

"_Dawn! Dawn! Dawn!" _The people who once scorned her from last year cried out with delight.

Dawn swooped her head up, smiling. _But has if in slow motion…_

Dawn's necklace suddenly unfastened and fell towards to stage floor…Dawn eyes widened! She watched in tearful horror as she saw it fall, her face paled.

_**THUD**_

Was all Dawn heard as she saw it fall onto the stage floor in the mix of rose petals and confetti. The audience obliviously kept cheering and cheering, but Dawn couldn't hear them…all she could hear was that painful thud…

Slowly, yet carefully, Dawn bent down to her knees. Tearfully, she slowly picked up the chained necklace, ever so carefully…

Dawn held it in her hands and looked up towards the crowd once more, but instantly, she regretted it. There, all the way back in the auditorium, stood Paul by the exit doors.

The look on his face…the look of shame…that blank look…

Dawn froze from her spot…

"_Paul..." _She murmured.

As if in slow motion, Paul just shook his head before pushing open the exit doors, disappearing completely into the bright light.

Tears welled up in Dawn's eyes…her nerves shaking!

She quickly got back up to her feet and shook her head.

"No…" She wept quietly.

Dawn shut her eyes tight as she tried her best for tears not to fall! But she couldn't hold them back!

'_Paul-!_' Dawn clenched her teeth as she held the necklace tight to her chest.

She looked back up tearfully at the crowd and shuttered slightly.

Faking a smile, she took one more bow…

_**CRASH!**_

_**SLAM!**_

Paul rampaged from backstage as he made his way to Dawn's dressing room, knocking over anything that got into his way from his fury. Drew, Gary, and Ash followed from behind. They all had worried looks on their faces, frequently shouting "Sorry!" or "He didn't mean it!" to anyone who took offense from Paul's behavior.

_As if Paul cared._

His eyes were blazing, his blood boiling! He couldn't that image of Dawn out of his head! This was Dawn! _His Dawn! _

He shouldn't have these images of her in his head!!

Paul quickly shook his head, trying his best to loose the sight of Dawn _wearing that_, trying his best to loose _those feelings _he felt for her back then!

'_Dawn…'_ Paul clenched his teeth as he made his way through the hallways of the backstage.

* * *

"W-What's this?" Dawn stuttered as her friends shoved a beautifully wrapped box in front of Dawn. They were now back in the dressing room, and everyone bustled around Dawn, who sat on a chair.

"It's a present! For the awesome job you did!" Leaf giggled as she patted Dawn on the back, Dawn turned a little bit red! She was so embarrassed!

"Y-You guys didn't have too!" She flushed as she toiled with the fine-laced bow that was wrapped perfectly around. The box also had silver and white wrapping paper neatly covering the box. Dawn was even afraid to open it, it so pretty!

"Oh Dawn, don't be so modest!" May teased as she playfully slapped Dawn on the head, Dawn laughed quietly. "You deserve it!"

"Well…okay…" Dawn murmured as she unwrapped the gift. Slowly, she untied the bow and set it aside. Step by step, she unraveled the box, Step by Step; her friends seem to gleam with delight.

Dawn tore off the paper to find white clothing box, with the words "_**Eternal"**_ written elegantly in black cursive on top. She slowly lift off the lid and set in on the counter, and began to unfold back the white lace that covered what was inside.

"Wait!" Zoey all of a sudden cried, Dawn looked up curiously. "Read the card first!" Zoey handed Dawn a simple white card that Dawn accepted, she opened it up and smiled. The card read:

_-Dawn,_

_Please accept this gift as a symbol of how much you mean to us! No matter what happens, throughout the tears and laughter, we'll always have your back! You're an amazing singer, dancer, and most importantly, A Friend. _

_Your Friends, _

_Leaf, May, Misty, and Zoey_

"You guys! You honestly didn't have too!" Dawn cried as she tried her best for tears not to shine through, her friends giggled.

"Yes we did, now hurry up and see what we got you!" Misty said, smiling.

Dawn smiled as she returned to opening her gift. She lifted back the lace and her eyes widened, her face too shocked for words.

There before her was the most beautiful dress she had ever seen. She stood up and lifted it up from out of the box, still in awe-struck.

The gown was a lovely dark cream color and the material was soft to the touch. Elegant black ruffles adorned the very top area of the bodice with a thin black ribbon in the center, and also two thin black ribbons served as straps when tied together. It was simple yet so so pretty…

"W…O…W" Dawn managed to say, breaking apart the word into three syllables. "You guys ….really didn't-!" She began,

"Didn't have too, blah blah blah…" May teased. "Isn't it pretty?" she giggled as she ran up next to Dawn, lifting up the end of the dress to show how it just swayed in the breeze.

"It's one of a kind!" Leaf said while smiling with delight.

"_R-Really?" _Dawn gasped, shocked. She caressed the fine stitching of the dress with admiration. "B-but how could you guys afford this?"

"It wasn't really that hard, just combined all that money we had and soon we had enough." Misty stated. "My sisters even ordered it especially for you!"

Dawn looked down at the dress, awestruck. It was so beautiful, so lovely…

"I don't think I can accept this…" Dawn murmured, all her friends gave her questionable looks.

"You guys…do so much for me already…it'd be wrong for me to take something so precious and expensive…" She finally said, her eyes solemn.

"Dawn…don't give us that. We do stuff for you because we _want _you too!" Her friends reassured, Dawn sighed.

"Thank you…" She smiled as tears drifted off her face; her friends brought her into a group hug, "_Thank you!" _She finally cried.

'_Paul…" Dawn _couldn't help but think as she thought of the dress, that painful look he gave her… "_Do you think this dress is pretty…?"_

"_Do you still think…I'm pretty?" _

* * *

Paul continued to rage through the halls, Dawn's dressing room becoming closer and closer.

"P-Paul…maybe we should go-" Ash tried to reason with Paul's anger but Paul was quick to lash back.

"_**NO!**_" He snarled viciously, his anger becoming unbearable. Ash immediately stepped back, He knew by now not to mess with Paul when he was in this state!

"…and that's when I hit it out of the park!" A voice bragged that caught Paul's ear. He looked back to see Damion! Who was apparently talking to one of his friends about base ball.

"_You._" Paul fumed as he approached Damion, anger in each of his steps.

"Wait!" Drew tried calling out to Paul, but Paul couldn't hear him. He was too busy calculating different ways for Damion to _die_!

"Of course, pitching is really hard when your arm is broken-AHH!" Damion cried out in pain as Paul thrust his arm onto Damion's throat, pinning him up against the wall. The person who was chatting with Damion ran for his safety!

"Paul!" His friends cried out as the got behind him, shocked.

"D-Dude! What's your problem?!" Damion managed to choke out from Paul's grip. Paul only tightened his grip!

"Dude! You're seriously hurting him!" Gary shouted, Paul ignored him.

"He _touched _her." He snarled from under his breath, Damion looked slightly confused from under all his pain. "_You kissed her!!" _Paul roared as he grabbed him and slammed him to the floor, pushing his foot against Damion's chest. Damion cried out in pain!

"_PAUL!" _

Suddenly, two and two clicked in Damion's head.

* * *

'_Paul…?'_ he thought as a vivid memory returned to him.

_A fourteen year old Dawn sat on the docks, staring longingly at the lake before her. The water was so clear and sparkling, that Dawn could see her reflection staring right back at her! _

_Dawn looked into the eyes of her tears…_

_She sat there crying hopelessly, no one would come to borrow her, everyone at camp was too busy eating lunch…Dawn didn't feel hungry…_

_She kept thinking of __**him.**_

_How he treated her, how he abandoned her so badly! _

_The very memory put Dawn into a crying fit, the kind that you can't hold back no matter what, the kind that made it hurt…_

"_Hey Dawn! You totally missed it! Lucas was dared to eat a cup of worms and he so totally did it!" Damion laughed as he ran up to Dawn, grinning widely._

_Dawn immediately stopped her crying and wiped her tears, she couldn't let Damion see her like this!_

"_That's…nice…" Dawn sniffed. _

"_Hey…What's wrong?" Damion consoled as he sat next to Dawn, tugging on her hair teasingly. Dawn slapped him away!_

"_N-Nothing! See? I'm happy!" Dawn faked a smile, Damion didn't buy it. _

"_Nuh-uh! You've been upset ever since the first day of camp this year." Damion pouted like a five-year old, looking the other way. _

_Dawn frowned as she dwindled with a lock of her hair, looking out into the lake. _

"_It's just…do you remember that friend I had?" Dawn's lips trembled at the word __**had**__, _

"_W-Well, he moved back…" Dawn murmured._

"_Really? That's great!" Damion laughed, however, as he saw Dawn's sad face, he immediately became serious._

"_He…He hates me…" Dawn stuttered, as if she finally realized the sad truth now. Suddenly, she flung herself into Damion's arm, crying hysterically. Damion was shocked. _

"_H-He HATES ME!" She kept weeping and weeping, _

"_Paul…hates me…" She gently cried as Damion patted her back, trying his best to console her. _

_But he knew that he would never be the one who could forever wipe her tears…_

_Only He can…_

* * *

"So…it was you…" Damion said as Paul pressed his foot harder against his chest, Paul lifted his eyebrow.

"What are you talking about?" He narrowed his eyes, Damion smirked.

"If you get off me, then maybe I'll tell you." He said, Paul looked down at him.

"_Why should I? You…and Dawn!" _Paul spat.

Suddenly, Damion managed to free himself from Paul's tight hold and as he got to his feet, he raised his hands, signifying he surrendered.

Damion's eyes softened as he recalled Dawn's tears…

"That look in her eyes…the way she cried…" Damion recalled as he folded his arms, Paul stared at him.

"It was you; you were the one who broke her heart so badly…" Damion said as he looked at Paul, finally realizing everything.

Paul tightened his fist.

"You have no idea what she went through! You have no idea how much she suffered!" Damion shouted, anger filling in his veins.

Paul couldn't take it anymore!

"You think…_it was easy for me?!_" Paul began; Damion was taken back by the vigor in his voice!

Ash, Gary, and Drew stepped forward, they WERE NOT going to allow Paul to beat Dawn's friend into a bloody pulp.

Paul stayed silent for a bit, rethinking on how what he should say. He recalled all the times he had with Dawn, and then his mind rushed to that day he returned…

"You think….it's easy for me to see her everyday? To not just walk up and hug her like you can?" Paul said, his voice softer. He clenched his fist, trying his best to not break down.

"You have no idea…you don't…" Paul murmured, his eyes beginning to well up. The others were taken back! They have never seen Paul show this kind of emotion before!

"You love her…" Damion smirked; Paul glanced up at him annoyed.

"Well then, if that's the case," Damion began as he dug his hands in his pockets, walking away. "You better go make her smile." He smiled cheekily as he looked back them before walking away.

"Paul?" Ash asked as the rest approached Paul, who his teeth were clenched, his fist formed into balls.

"I…can't…" Paul muttered to himself.

"What?"

"She'd hate me…" Paul said, emptiness in his voice.

Drew looked at Gary and Ash, who both secretly smirked.

"Paul, we should head backstage!" Ash said cheekily, Paul looked at him as if he just grew wings and a unicorn horn.

"…What?" he asked, confused.

"We, um, need to recount all of our equipment!" Drew said as the others began to push Paul into the direction of backstage. "We need to make sure we have everything!"

"But-!" Paul argued harshly, but the others kept pushing.

"Ugh," Ash rolled his eyes as, this time; he slapped Paul on the head, _lightly of course._

"Sometimes you just gotta trust your friends." Was all he said.

Paul looked at him and slightly smiled. He sighed as his friends continued to push him.

"Fine but that last time I trusted you guys, we got fined two hundred dollars." Paul said as he narrowed his eyes, the others just sweat-dropped!

There was an awkward silence…

"LET'S GO BACKSTAGE PAUL!" The trio of idiots cheered, trying their best not to bring up _that _memory.

* * *

"Turn around Dawn so we can see!" Zoey asked as Dawn faced her back towards them. She clutched her hands to her dress that she was now wearing and was blushing brightly. She was so embarrassed!

"No!" Dawn replied, still blushing, eyes shut. She didn't want them to see her she didn't even get a good look at her and she knew she looked foolish! Beautiful dresses like these deserve to be draped over models, not girls like her!

"Like, don't be such a crybaby." Daisy instructed as she rotated Dawn around, facing her friends and the rest of Misty's sisters, whom have just entered the dressing room and forced the dress on Dawn.

"Kya!! Dawn you look beautiful!" Her friends cried with delight. Dawn curiously poked one of her eyes open, then the other, and looked down at her dress. She felt the smooth soft material that swayed with her body and she marveled at the black ruffles that bordered across her chest-line.

"Wow…" was all she said.

"Just be sure to tie these ribbons tight," Violet said as she tightened the black ribbons that served as straps for Dawn's dress, Dawn shuttered at the word _tight._ Painful corset memories…

"Or else they'll fall, and who knows if this dress can serve as a strapless." She finished as she tightened the last one, Dawn cringed.

'_Too tight!'_ Dawn thought as she sweat-dropped.

Violet stepped back and joined the others in admiring Dawn.

Dawn turned around the face one of the dressing room mirrors and she gasped slightly.

Was that her? Was that really her in this beautiful dress?

It didn't seem real…

She brought her hand to her now bare neck and tears strolled down her cheeks.

'_He hates me more than ever now…' _

With her other hand she pick up her necklace, she stared at it long and hard.

Sighing, she put it on around her neck and stared at her reflection with the necklace on,

A sad Reflection….

'_Why are you crying?' _Dawn's five-year old self would ask if she would see herself from now. Dawn hesitated.

'_Because I'm lonely…' _She answered as more tears trickled down her face.

"…_When I've even forgotten how to smile…" _

* * *

"So, we're going to miss you guys!" Brendan said as he high-fived May. The girls gathered outside the dressing room door to say goodbye to their _"male-extras",_ who had to leave to make another gig.

"It was fun! Ow…" Red complained as he rubbed his neck.

"What's wrong Red?" Leaf asked, concerned.

"I think you pulled on my tie too hard during our scene, I think you pulled something…"

"Hey, maybe we can take you to the nurse office. I'm sure you can lie down." Lucas pointed out.

"No way, _do you know what goes on in the nurse's beds?' _Red scowled, Leaf jumped!

"_Know we don't, please tell." _May, Misty, Zoey, and Dawn smirked as they looked at Leaf. Leaf turned the darkest crimson ever!

"Oh! I just forgot!" Leaf said in a hurry, "I left something backstage!" Leaf blushed as she scurried away to backstage, Dawn smirked.

Typical Leaf.

As soon as Leaf was out of sight, another approaching figure came running in the distance.

"Hey guys!" Damion yelled as they approached the group, smiling.

"Damion!" Dawn cried happily as she hugged him.

"Wow, someone's sure affectionate." He smirked; he looked at Dawn's dress and smiled.

"You look really pretty Dawn." Damion complimented as he ruffled her hair.

"Heehee, thanks!" Dawn giggled.

"Damion, we have to leave soon. We have to be at the place by ten." Lucas pointed as he checked his watch.

"SHOTGUN!" Red cried as he raced for the nearest exit.

"No way!! You just said you have a sore neck!" Brendan cried after him, racing him to the car.

As their voices drifted farther, the others could still hear _"Nuh huh!" _and _"You little-!"_ They sweat-dropped.

Lucas looked at Damion, who sighed. "I don't think they know that I have the keys." He said as he dangled the keys.

"See ya Dawn." Lucas said as he hugged her, "Keep in touch, kay?"

"Sure Lucas." Dawn smiled. Lucas grinned and left, chasing after the two idiots who left previously.

"Dawn," Damion said in all seriousness as Lucas was out of ear-shot; Dawn looked at him, bewildered.

"Yeah Damion?" She asked.

Damion looked at her, and he recalled all her tears. He recalled how Paul reacted…what he said…

Damion took Dawn into his arms and hugged her tight.

"D-Damion?" Dawn asked, confused.

"_You think….it's easy for me to see her everyday? To not just walk up and hug her like you can?" Paul said, his voice softer. He clenched his fist, trying his best to not break down. _

"See you." Was all he said before smiling and leaving, cherishing the moment.

As he left, Dawn stared at him.

"That was strange…" Dawn said as she raised an eyebrow. It was quiet until...

Suddenly, Misty's phone rang!

Misty snapped open her phone and gasped.

"A-Are you sure?! N-Now slow down Leaf!" Misty tried telling Leaf on the other end of the phone.

"W-What's wrong?" May asked, concerned.

"L-Leaf, don't try to move!" Misty kept telling Leaf, "Try to stay still!"

"What's wrong?!" Dawn asked.

"It's Leaf! She ran to the stage and tripped over a p-power chord! It was attached to a huge amplifier which wasn't sturdy and fell right on top of h-her!" Misty cried, the others gasped.

"_It hurts…!" _Leaf's voice on the phone cried.

"N-Now stay still!" Misty instructed. "Zoey, go inform my sisters! May, call an ambulance!" Dawn felt foggy; she couldn't believe what was happening!

Zoey nodded before running off. May quickly pulled out her phone.

"Shit…" May muttered from under breath, "My phone died! I have to go use the pay phone! Misty, stay on the phone with Leaf! Tell her to hang on!" May rushed the down the hallway, in search of a pay-phone.

"Oh god…" Dawn cried to herself, "Leaf…"

"_So much blood…" _Leaf's voice said in a daze on the phone.

"H-Hold On! Dawn will be right over!" Misty told Leaf frantically. Dawn's head snapped up.

"O-Of course! Stay on the phone with her Misty!" Dawn shouted back towards Misty as she ran towards the stage.

Misty checked to see if Dawn was out of sight and earshot before giving out a sigh of relief.

"Nice acting Leaf!" Misty complimented into the phone.

"I just hope this works." Leaf said as she reappeared from a corner, perfectly fine.

"It will…I hope…" Misty reassured, half to Leaf, half to herself.

* * *

Dawn rushed towards the back stage, her heart panicking.

"_L-Leaf!" _Dawn cried in her head. Images of Leaf, laying there under a huge amplifier in a pool of blood, haunted her.

She ran and ran into the darkness of the backstage, her dress flowing in the wind behind her.

Tears threatened to fall but she held them back. Even if…if Leaf looses enough blood and the weight keeps crushing her…

"…_Leaf could die…" _Dawn whimpered to herself.

Her heart sped up when the stage came into view, it was completely dark! Dawn stumbled onto the main stage, the curtains where closed and darkness surrounded everywhere…

"_LEAF!" _Dawn cried as she couldn't find her friend on the pitch black stage, "Leaf, answer me!" She almost wept.

Was she too late…?

"Now." Zoey meanwhile whispered to Kenny, who signaled for a cue of light.

Dawn looked all around, but it was too dark. Too dark…

Suddenly, a small dim ray of light shone on a small section of the stage. Dawn looked at it curiously before walking over to it. She knelt down before it and picked up what it was shining on, a microphone?

She stood up, and held the mic.

What was going on?

"And…Now!" Zoey whispered even louder, almost giddy.

"_Tell Me how I'm supposed to breathe with No Air…air…air…" _Three voices sung from backstage.

Dawn's eyes widened as she whipped her head around to see May, Misty, and Leaf, who was perfectly fine, singing into a small mic from backstage!

Dawn took one small step forward but the curtains on the stage opened and the spotlight centered on Dawn. She froze.

"_Oooh…" _Her friends sung as blue light-effects began to dance around the stage. Dawn's face paled, they didn't expect her too--sing?! She looked towards the other end of the backstage to see Ash, Gary, and Drew there, working the DJ booth, smiling.

She looked towards the audience as her friends sung and gripped the microphone for dear life. They were all watching her! And she was alone! Just…like last year…

Nervously, she lifted her mic up…

"_If I should die before my wake," _Dawn sung as she stared into the crowd, and like May said before, she could barely see them the lights were so bright…

"_It's cause you took my breathe away…" _She closed her eyes, thinking of a certain someone.

"_Losing you is like living in a world with no air," _She opened up her eyes and clenched her chest, as if she was holding her heart.

"_Ohhh," _She sung as she stared at the crowd.

She slowly step back and was about to turn to leave but then…

"_I'm here alone, didn't want to leave," _A familiar voice sang, Dawn's eyes widened!

She whipped her head around and her heart raced!

'…_**P-PAUL!' **_

"_My heart won't move, it's incomplete," _Paul sung as he approached Dawn, his eyes soft.

"_Is there any way I could make you understand?" _He reached his arm out to her as he sung…

Dawn's nerve froze. What…was going on?

"_But how," _Dawn nervouslysung hard and tearfully into the mic, causing her voice to echo.

"_Do you expect me?" _She put her hand across her chest, her voice full of distress and distrust. She slowly backed away from Paul, trying her best to make it to backstage. She couldn't do this...

"_To live alone with just me?" _Almost…

"_Cause my world revolves around you, it's so…" _Dawn was just about a foot from being backstage when her friends smirked, Leaf giggled quietly before shoving Dawn right into Paul!

"_Hard for me to breathe!" _Dawn sung as Leaf did so. The music stopped for a brief instant, letting Dawn's voice mesmerize the crowd.

The music continued!

"_Tell me how I'm supposed to breathe with no air?" _Paul and dawn both sung as they stared into each other's eyes…

"_**Um…by the way…what is your name?" Dawn asked shyly as she added more sand to the mountain.**_

"…_**Paul." Paul said as he looked at Dawn, which caused a smile to form on her face. **_

"_Can't live, can't breathe with no air," _They continued to sing.

"_That's how I feel whenever you ain't there," _

"_It's No Air, No Air…" _Dawn looked up into Paul's eyes, for once, her heart didn't race, and it paced slowly. She didn't feel nervous when she looked at him…

"_Got me out here in the water so deep," _

"_**Friends?" She asked as she let out her hand sweetly. Paul stared at it long and hard before he replied:**_

"…_**Friends." Paul replied with a smile as Dawn smile grew wider as she did so.**_

"_Tell me how you gonna be without me?" _Paul looked at Dawn, she looked so beautiful….

"_If you ain't here, I just can't breathe"_ Dawn clutched the mic tightly, as if it would fly away.

"_Its No Air, No Air"_ They both sung, completely mesmerized in each other.

"_No air air_" May, Misty, and Leaf sang.

"_Ohhh" _Dawn sung, keeping her eyes at Paul.

"_No air air" _

"_Nooo" Paul_ sang, keeping his eyes on Dawn.

"_No air air" _

"_Ohhh" _

"_No air air" _

"_I Walked, I Ran, I Jumped, I Flew," _Paul sung as he clutched his mic.

"_Right off the ground to Flow to You," _He brought his hand and hesitantly brought it to her cheek, framing her delicate face. Dawn closed her eyes, savoring it.

"_There's no gravity to hold me down for real," _Paul released and Dawn looked up at him; her cheek now felt somewhat cold…

"_But somehow I'm still alive inside," _Dawn sung as if she didn't believe the words herself

"_You took my breath," _Dawn looked up at Paul

"_**Remember," Paul whispered to her softly as he pointed to the necklace, "As long as I'm here and as long as you want it, I'll forever keep that promise." Paul reassured her, referring to his and Dawn's engagement.**_

"_But I survived." _

"_I don't know how," _Dawn took a step back.

"_But I don't even care!" _She shut her eyes and sung powerfully into the mic, the whole crowd was mesmerized!

"_So how," _Her friends sung from backstage.

_**There stood Paul, holding the unconscious Dawn in his arms, bridal style.**_

"_How," _Dawn tearfully harmonized.

"_Do you expect me? Paul sung,_

_**Even if Dawn never had known…somehow he heard that faint cry before she passed out.**_

_**He looked forlornly down at her, a sparkling glint catching his eye.**_

"_Me!" _Dawn continued to harmonize.

_**She was secretly wearing that necklace…**_

"_To live alone with just me?" _They both sung together.

"_Ohh!" _Dawn sung.

"_**I'll take care of her." Was all he said as he left the auditorium, no one even dared to get in his way. He wasn't mad or angry that she was wearing it. In fact, his heart seemed lighter than it ever was before.**_

"_Cause my world revolves around you," _Dawn sung as she glided to Paul's other side swiftly, singing as she did so. Her dress swayed beautifully!

"_**I'm here**__**…" **__**He whispered into her ear.**_

"_It's so hard for me to breathe!" _They both sung together, cherishing their words.

"_Tell me how I'm supposed to breathe with no air?" _Paul sung,

"_Ohh," _Dawn sung, following his words.

"_Can't live, can't breathe with no air," _

"_Ohh" _Paul sung,

"_That's how I feel whenever you ain't there," _They stared deeply into each other's eyes.

"_It's No Air No Air!" _

"_Got me out here in the water so deep!" _

"_So Deep," _Dawn sung,

"_Tell me how you gonna be without me?" _

"_Without me, yeah" _Paul harmonized.

"_If you ain't here I just can't breathe" _

"_It's No Air, No Air" _They both sung together, the lights danced all around them, illuminating their faces. Dawn's heart began to slowly speed up.

"_No air air" _

"_Ohh" _Dawn sung as her heart rate increased,Was this real?

"_No air air," _

"_Ohh" _She kept on singing.

'_**But please God…" **_Dawn thought as she shut her eyes.

"_No air air" _

"_Ohh," _

"_No Air Air" _

'_**Please God…Please don't let…the music stop…' **_

"_No more," _Paul gently shook his head as he gently put his thumb under Dawn's chin, making her look him into his eyes.

Suddenly, the music became somewhat calmer.

"_Ohh," _Dawn sung tearfully.

"_Baby," _Paul sung, looking at her.

"_Ohh," _Dawn shook her head as she moved her head away from Paul.

"_It's No Air No Air," _May, Misty, and Leaf sung from backstage. They all smiled! Their plan was working, it really was working! They looked across the stage, onto the other side, to see Drew, Ash, and Gary smiling too.

"_Hey," _

"_Ooh,"_ Dawn sung as she looked at him, a blush creeping across her face.

"_No Aiiirrr" _Paul sung as he caressed her cheek.

"_Ooh," _Dawn clutched her mic tight; it was too good to be true…

"_Oh!!" _They both shut their eyes tight and sung powerfully into their mics as the music stopped for just a moment. And when it started up again, it was powerful than before!!

"_**He would never do that! Maybe before he would have…" Dawn continued, her eyes closed, tears forming.**_

"_Tell me how am I suppose to breathe-" _Paul sung,

"_**But now it's different!" She finally cried, too painful for her to admit the truth.**_

"_-With No Air!" _Dawn finished for him, getting into the song.

"_**Wait a minute…" Dawn began as she walked over to her nightstand. She picked up the picture frame that supposedly contained her and everyone's trip from the beach but she dropped it from shock on what was there instead.**_

"_No Air!!" _Paul sung, getting into the song as well.

"_**T-That picture…" Dawn stuttered as she picked the frame back up. Instead of the picture of her friends, it was that old picture of her and Paul…from her childhood…**_

"_Can't live can't breathe with No Air," _

_**Dawn clutched it close to her heart, tears forming down her eyes.**_

"_No Air!" _

_**Was this a sign? A sign on not to give up and to keep fighting?**_

_**Dawn didn't know but she did know that things were changing, but for better or for worse?**_

"_That's how I feel-" _

_**That's what she wanted to know…**_

"_-Whenever you ain't there!" _Dawn sung as the lights began to dance and dance.

"_It's No Air No Air!" _Dawn's friends kept singing, smiling triumphantly.

"_No Breathing…oh!" _Paul and Dawn both sang as they both swayed around each other.

"_Got me out here in the water so deep,"_ Paul sung

"_So Deep!"_ Dawn echoed his words perfectly!

"_Tell Me how you gonna be without me?" _

"_Yeah," _Dawn kept her eyes on Paul, his eyes staring back at her.

"_If you ain't here-" _Paul began,

"_I just can't breathe!" _Dawn finished.

"_It's No Air, No Aiiiirrr!" _The couple sung powerfully, stronger than before.

"_So how do you expect me?" _May, Misty, and Leaf harmonized. Zoey gave the signal for the lights to become more intense, Kenny nodded as he flipped the switch for more dazzling lights to dance.

"_Baby-" _Dawn sang through the harmony.

"_To live alone with just me?" _The others kept singing.

"…_BABY!!" _She kept on singing and singing.

"_Cause my world revolves around you!" _

Dawn once more swayed around Paul, putting more feeling into her step. They never took their eyes off each other.

"_It's so hard for me to breathe!" _Paul sang with the harmony,

"_Ohh!" _

"_Tell me how I'm suppose to breathe with No Air" _

"_No Air!" Dawn sung melodically into the microphone._

"_Oh!" Paul sang. _

"_Can't Live can't breathe with no Air," _Paul sang,

"_No No No!" _

"_That's how I feel whenever you ain't there," _

"_Not there!" _She harmonized as she swayed.

"_It's No Air, No Air" _They both sang as they both stopped their swaying and only focusing on each other.

The music slowed…

"_Got me out here in the water so deep…" _Dawn sung softer as she stared at Paul. Both of them were panting from singing so powerfully.

"_Tell me how you gonna be without me…" _Paul sang as he looked into her cerulean eyes, he too, panting.

"_If you ain't here…I just can't breathe…"_ Dawn sang as she shook her head, slightly blushing.

"_It's No Air, No Air…" _They both sang as they took a few steps closer to each other…

"_No air air" _May, Misty, and leaf sung, smiling giddily.

"_Ohhh," _Dawn sung quietly

"_No air air,"_

"_Ohh," _Paul sung

"_No air air," _

"_No air," _Dawn quietly harmonized as both she and Paul lift their hands up gently, putting their hands against one another's.

The music slowed.

"_No Air…" _They both sang closely, their eyes closed…

Their Fingers Intertwined.

* * *

Aw, that was sweet. I almost didn't put this in but when I thought of it, I decided to would be fit. The song was "No Air" by Jordan Sparks and Chris Brown if you guys didn't know.

BUT IT'S NOT OVER! ONE MORE CHAPTER! Yeah, you thought it was done but I still got to get to the part where-(slaps hand over mouth) Um, I'm just going to say that there is one more chapter (sweat-drops).

I would like to credit _**Suwamoto **_for the dress design. In the fan art she made, she drew that dress and I thought it was much better than the one I came up with so I decided to use it. I hope that that's okay Suwamoto!

Yup, the male extras got off easy, lol! Well except for Damion, but hey, he could have got worse.

Yay! I updated quickly this time! Until next time!


	9. Chapter 9: I LOVE YOU!

WAHHHH!! Last chapter! (Sniff-sniff)

I'm really glad you guys liked the last one so well, it really made me happy!

Alright, I really have nothing else to say so I'll just go right to the chapter.

OH! _**This chapter**_…this is when…!! Well, you'll all just see XD.

_**I DO NOT OWN POKEMON, ITS CHARACTERS, OR THE SONGS USED.**_

Oh…Paul might be a little OOC….but sometimes OOC is good right?

Chapter 9 of Lady Marmalade: Sweet Sweet Revenge

"I LOVE YOU!!"

* * *

The stage dimmed as the duet came to a close, but yet Paul and Dawn still held their pose. The crowd ROARED, shouting for encores.

As the curtains rushed to a close, Dawn looked at Paul. She savored the warmth of his hand, the look he gave her…

That same look he used to give her years ago…that soft look…

'…_Paul…' _Dawn thought as she blushed. Had he come back to her?

_For real?_

But Dawn couldn't help but think…

Slowly, unwillingly, Dawn slowly let go of his hand. She stared into his eyes.

'_It's…too good…' _

"I'm sorry…" Dawn murmured as she lowered her head, "I just…can't handle this right now…" Dawn looked the other way, hurt.

Paul didn't take that though.

Slowly, he gently cuffed his thumb under her chin and made her look at him. Dawn's heart began to beat very fast! He stared at her before inclining his head and leaning in towards Dawn…

Just when Dawn thought her heart couldn't go any faster!

Dawn's lips trembled as Paul's came closer, she shut her eyes tight.

_**Lub-dub**_

_**Lub-dub **_

Dawn's heart beat so fast, her face turned a light shade of pink. Paul was just inches away from her lips, when suddenly; Dawn jerked her head to the left!

Paul, surprised, stepped back. Dawn looked scared, so very scared.

"I'm sorry…" Paul murmured as he looked the other way, ashamed.

Dawn gripped her dress as many memories flooded back.

"_**Get lost pathetic girl, you already wasted enough of my time." Paul finally said as he walked away from the scene. Dawn's vision blurred from tears as she saw Paul's back walking away from her.**_

"_**I knocked over the table of paint and Dawn was in the way. It was none of her fault." Paul said in his usual monotone, Dawn sat there, her jaw dropped.**_

"_**I'm here**__**…" **__**He whispered into her ear.**_

"Why…do you …have to…" Dawn murmured as tears streaked down her face, Paul went to put his hand against her cheek but Dawn slapped him away!

"_WHY DO YOU KEEP DOING THIS TO ME?!" _Dawn cried as she fled from the spot, crying.

Dawn tried running but when she reached the backstage, her friends caught hold of her.

"Dawn!!" Her friend cried happily, the other guys soon followed, smiling too.

However, when they saw Dawn, the atmosphere became suddenly dark…

Dawn tried to run past them but Misty caught hold of her.

"What's wrong?" Misty asked, suddenly becoming concerned.

Paul walked up to group, his eyes ashamed. Ash, Gary, and Drew looked so confused!

"…Why…" Dawn murmured as tears fell over her cheeks, her friends were taken back! Misty let go of Dawn and stepped back.

"…D-Dawn?" Her friends asked.

"It's…almost funny," She said as more tears fell from her cheeks, "You know…for a minute…you really had me going…" She turned to face Paul.

"…What are you talking about?" Paul asked as he turned to face her.

"Like you could really…care about me…" She murmured, she folded her arms around herself for support, her limbs were shaking!

Paul took one step toward her but Dawn took one step back.

"It…was all an act…" Dawn whispered quietly to herself. She clutched her necklace tightly, her teeth clenched.

'There was no way," Dawn looked up at Paul tearfully**, **

"_**THERE WAS NO WAY YOU COULD REALLY LOVE ME!!**_**"** She cried as she clutched the necklace hard before…

…painfully throwing it to the ground in her angst.

"Dawn!!" Her friends cried as they tried running to her but Drew, Gary, and Ash out reached their arms, blocking them. They shook their heads at the girls, it was…hopeless…

"It's up to them now…" Drew murmured, almost sadly. Dawn's friends turned back to the scene, they couldn't believe it…

Paul's eyes couldn't move from the necklace that was lying there, so broken...

He tried his best for his emotion to show, but yet, even _that _was impossible.

Dawn stood there, her nerves still shaking. Tears gently streaked off her cheek as she saw Paul stare at the necklace, how he hurt he was…but she couldn't stop.

"_I don't…want it…" _She cried softly, Paul just looked at her. Dawn stared at the scene, trembling. What has she just done? That look in his eyes…

But no matter how much Dawn wanted it stop, Dawn's anger kept burning.

And it hurt _**her**_ _so __bad_.

'_No…stop…' _Dawn tried telling herself. It was like she was separated from her body. It was like she was watching her rip Paul's heart out…

….And hers as well…

"_I don't even_…"She began to cry,

'_PLEASE… DON'T!!'_ Dawn's inner-self cried desperately.

Dawn couldn't hear herself however, all she could hear was the painful things he told her…_**the painful things he has done to her!!**_

"_**I DON'T EVEN THINK I LOVE YOU ANYMORE!!" **_Dawn painfully spat as many tears spilled from her face. As though words escaped from her lips, everyone gasped. The room went silent…

Paul was taken back! He clenched his fist and clenched his teeth; it was the only way to prevent him from loosing his composure…

He looked at Dawn, who looked like she was about to cry any second.

"D-Dawn! You don't mean that!" Misty said as she tried reasoning with her friend. Dawn looked harshly at her friends.

"_JUST STOP IT!!"_She cried as she clutched her head and temple area, a painful throbbing was pounding so hard…

"_**I-I HATE ALL OF YOU! A-ALL YOU DO IS HURT ME!!" **_Dawn screamed.

"_**DAWN!!" **_Her friends cried, extremely hurt. This wasn't Dawn!

The Dawn _they _know would be smiling, they Dawn they know would never have hurt Paul so badly!!

"Then Go." Paul finally spoke up, Dawn looked up from her tears, taken back and scared.

"…W-" Dawn stuttered.

"_**You heard me! Now JUST GO!" **_Paul cried out, his voice shaking, tears appearing on the side of his eyes.

Tears spilled from Dawn's eyes, but yet she had a look of anger on her face. She took a step back, before turning around and rushing towards the nearest exit.

A Trail of Tears behind Her…

"_And the winner of this year's annual Talent Show is…!" _Kenny announced from the stage, completely oblivious to what was going on.

"_**NO DAWN, WAIT!!" **_May, Misty, Leaf, and Zoey cried out as ran after her.

"_Team Marmalade!" _Kenny announced, roars of applause could be heard from the crowd!

Dawn's friends ignored this however and kept calling out to Dawn but Dawn kept on running and running.

She shoved herself onto door that led outside, into the darkness of the night…

Once Dawn was outside, it was so dark… It down-poured heavily and the lightening and thunder crashed into her ears.

'_Paul…' _She wept to herself. She stopped briefly and she turned around to see everyone running after her, _except Paul. _

Her heart felt hollow, she shook her head in disbelief.

_He _wouldn't follow her. _**He **__never will. _

But she now didn't care.

She just turned and kept running, never looking back.

"_DAWN!!" _Her friends cried after her as they ran out the exit door too, into the sudden pouring rain.

But Dawn couldn't hear them; Power booms of thunder and crashed of lightening that boomed in the night sky masked their voices.

And Dawn didn't care.

She wouldn't have stopped running anyway…

* * *

"D-D-Dawn…." Zoey stuttered as she stared into the darkness of the streets that Dawn had just rushed into, _crying. _

"She didn't mean it…" May began, "There is no way she could have meant it…." She kept telling herself that, over and over.

"Someone h-has to go after her! It's dangerous to be out in a storm!" Leaf said, worried.

"But…"Misty began but she was cut off when Paul walked coolly past them, into the rain. His hands where in his pockets, his usual cool expression. He began walking away…

"P-Paul…" May said, she suddenly recalled what Dawn had said.

"_**I DON'T EVEN THINK I LOVE YOU ANYMORE!!"**__Dawn painfully spat as many tears spilled from her face._

May gasped.

"P-Paul!!" May called out after him, she brought a hand to her face to help shield herself from the harsh rain.

Paul looked behind his shoulder towards her, May hesitated.

"She…didn't mean it! Dawn would never say something like that!" She called out, trying to run after him.

"M-May!" Drew cried, holding her back in his grasp; he had no idea what Paul would do when he was this hurt!

Paul just stared at her.

"But she _did._ She obviously doesn't care." He said bitterly.

The rain kept pouring heavily, the sky so dark….

"Y-You're wrong! Dawn…she loves you!" May cried out,

"_SHE LOVES YOU MORE THAN ANYTHING!!" _She screamed as lightening crashed in the distance.

Paul's eyes widened. He clenched his fist in his pocket, around something cool and silver…

He took it out of his pocket and stared deeply at the now shattered necklace that Dawn had destroyed, and then he tightened his fist around it.

He didn't say anything; he just stared at the ground, his bangs covering his eyes.

And even though it rained so hard against the earth…

Paul knew he was crying….

* * *

Dawn ran and ran into the darkness of the streets, the rain pounding ever so hard on her.

But she didn't care.

She knew that even if there wasn't any rain, her tears would still blur her vision…

She cried as she ran, for she knew that each step she took, she was reminded of the reality of what she has done….

'_Paul…'_ She wept as she ran blindly, tears streaked her face and her dress was completely soaked. It clung to her body.

'…_forgive me…'_

But Dawn could not keep herself from still crying as she ran.

It wasn't fair! It just wasn't fair!!

'_It's not fair…' _Dawn cried, '_May will have Drew…Leaf...she'll have Gary, Misty will have Ash…Even Zoey will get Kenny!' _She thought as images of her friends being happy danced across her thoughts, and the image of her crying, alone, appearing last.

'_I'll always be alone…'_

She looked up ahead of where she was going, but she couldn't tell. The rain poured down so hard, the crashing of thunder just echoing in the distance.

She came to a halt to check her surroundings.

And she gasped.

"A…playground?" Dawn said as she looked around. It was a playground_. _But not just any playground…

"The…same playground that I met Paul…" Dawn said in disbelief as her heart sped up. The rain poured so hard, and it was so dark…but Dawn would recognize this playground anywhere…

She walked around the playground aimlessly, reminiscing on painful yet happy events that have occurred. She past the slide, the swing set that would creak with rust, the merry-go-round, the teeter-tarter, and…the sandbox.

Dawn froze as she stared at it. It was _smaller _than what she remembered. She knelt down before it and ran her fingers through the mushy sand. She lifted her hand up to examine it.

It was the same sand that _they _played in.

"Oh Paul…" Dawn cried as she stared at the sand.

"_**You heard me! Now JUST GO!"**__Paul cried out, his voice shaking, tears appearing on the side of his eyes._

"I…made you cry…" Dawn began to cry herself, _"I'm so sorry!"_

She cried over the sandbox, her tears mingling with the sand. What has she done? She loved him…and she had made the biggest mistake of her life!

"_I don't deserve you…" _Dawn cried as felt her bare neck. She wiped her crying eye with her clean hand, but as she did, she heard something.

_**CREAK!**_

Dawn broke from her tears, quickly got up and turned around.

No One was there…

The rain poured heavily and the sky was too dark, Dawn could barely see…

She looked to where the sound came from, _the swings._

She stepped back from them. "M-Maybe the wind blew it…" Dawn thought, trying her best to look on the bright side.

_**CREAK! **_

She heard it again! But this time, it was from behind her! She quickly whipped her head around but nothing! Nothing except the darkness…

Dawn whimpered; Dawn didn't like being alone, and she didn't like it when she couldn't see!

It rained so hard….

She began heading out of the playground, she couldn't deal with this!

Slowly, she headed towards the exit. She heard the wind blow. She began quickening her pace until she heard a snicker. She whipped her head around!

"W-Who's there?!" She shouted, trying her best to sound confident. However, her voice quivered when she spoke.

_No response. _

She turned to leave once she thought it was safe, but the sound of a laugh made her legs freeze.

_**CREE-AAKKK!**_

Dawn tried her best to move but she couldn't! Fear has struck her!!

"Look guys, a lost kitten." A strange man, just a few years older than Dawn, wearing a dark school uniform appeared from behind the swings. Dawn gasped, terrified! He had a mischievous evil look in his eyes, and he looked much stronger than Dawn!

She tried to scream but when she tried, no volume came out of her voice. The man laughed bitterly, the sound sent chills down Dawn's spine!

"Good. I was getting bored. Maybe we can have some fun with her." A lankier boy, wearing the same dark school uniform as the other, said with his arms crossed, appearing from behind the slide. Dawn stood there, terrified!

'_W-What do they mean by…fun?' _Dawn thought, scared. Suddenly, her eyes widened into realization.

_**Fun.**_

Two and two clicked together, her face paled into a horrible reality.

She looked at both men, who had an evil look in their eyes when they stared at her. They approached her, and Dawn managed to take a few steps back.

"D-Don't come any closer! I-I'll scream!" Dawn threatened with her shaky voice as she stepped back, she walked back but as she did, she bumped into something large and heavy.

"Hey! She touched me first! Does that mean I get to go first?" A really fat boy with an eye-patch laughed as Dawn walked into him!

Dawn whipped her head around to see the boy and his pudgy cheeks grinned at her, Dawn shrieked! She turned around to run the other way but when she did, the strange man and his lanky friend where right in front of her!

She wouldn't be able to beat them off!

_Or get away! _

"No, I get the first go." The strange man narrowed his snotty eyes as he stared at Dawn, getting a good look at her.

"I'm after the boss!" The lanky boy claimed. Dawn couldn't move. She couldn't find her voice! Her nerves shook!

They were planning to-! _To her-!! _

'_N-Not them!" _Dawn thought in horror, _'O-Only __**he**__ can!' _She thought as a certain person came to her mind.

Suddenly, Dawn gasped as they began to close in on her!

"L-Leave me alone!" Dawn screamed but they continued to box her in, "I'll-I'll scream!"

"Aw, don't be like that sugar baby," The strange man purred as he backed Dawn up against a wall, taking a lock of her hair and sniffing it.

That was it!

Dawn tried screaming but only a shrill squeal came out of her voice. It was just like those nightmares when you wanted to say something but nothing came out!

Except…_this wasn't a nightmare!_

Dawn leg's shook as the man slowly undid one of Dawn's ribbon straps!

"S-Stop!" She cried in a weak voice. But the man was persistent.

"Get her good boss!" The fat boy cheered from behind him, tears began to well up in Dawn's eyes, her legs felt woozy, and her head foggy.

Her left strap untied and hung there, Violet was right, the dress wouldn't serve as a strapless! It also didn't help that the rain poured so hard that her dress was nearly sticking to her body!

The strange man put his arm against the wall next to Dawn's head and sought after the other strap but when Dawn saw this, ignoring the fact that she felt woozy and drifting off, she slapped him away!

"Resistant are we?" The creep said as she leaned in towards her.

Dawn shut her eyes as the creep began to kiss her neck, immediately she tried screaming but it wouldn't work!

She knew she had to call for help, before she passed out!!

_Damion, Lucas, Her friends, the police_, _**ANYONE!**_

"_**PAUL!!" **_Dawn cried out instinctively without thinking, tears welling up in her eyes.

The gang just laughed.

"Look, she's calling for her boyfriend!" The lanky one said, falling over to his knees in laughter. "Like he can hear you!"

Dawn's eyes widened, it was getting so hard to fight off the man, and her exhaustion….

"He'll probably wouldn't even want to rescue you!" The fat boy agreed, Dawn's heart sank.

'_He right…' _Dawn thought as more tears spilled on her face, as well as the heavy rain.

'…_He'd wouldn't even bother…'_

Dawn shut her eyes, letting the exhaustion finally take control.

It was….hopeless…

"_Enough_!" The strange man shouted back towards them as he looked up from Dawn, "You're keeping me from-_**AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!" **_

Dawn felt the man release, but she didn't have any energy to move, so she just slumped down against the wall.

Her tear-filled eyes still closed…

* * *

The strange man lied there on the wet ground, withering in pain.

"B-BOSS!" His two sidekicks cried out as they went to run towards them but they suddenly halted.

Standing above the strange man, and standing protectively in front of Dawn, was another person, the darkness covering his features.

"B-Back off!" The fat guy shouted, trying his best to sound tough.

The person encased in the shadows took a step forward and soon his features were exposed.

Rain still down-poured and the droplets pounded hard on the person, but he didn't seem to mind. His purple hair was dripping wet, yet his coal eyes were burning with a deranged fury.

_**HE WAS FURIOUS!! **_

"_Who's next?" _He snarled from under his breath, taking a step forward to the two henchmen. Their bodies shook with fear!

Bold and determine to "avenge" his boss, the lanky boy stuck his fists up in the air, yet his facial expression was filled with worry.

He charged at the purple-haired boy with some sort of battle cry, Paul smirked.

"Feh, Pathetic." He mutter from under his breath before he side-stepped to the left. The boy obliviously kept running and missed him! Paul then grabbed for his left arm, swerved him around, and high-kicked him right in the face!

The lanky boy took a few steps back, covering his nose in pain.

"H-He broke my nose! _THAT BASTARD BROKE MY NOSE_!" He cried out in pain.

"Hang in there!" The fat boy cried out as he came running to his friend's aid, Paul saw this out of the corner of his eye.

The fat boy came charging at Paul, who was in front of the lanky boy, with a full force! Paul stepped back slightly, and the fat boy, with all his weight, fell right on top of the lanky boy!

"OOOF!" They both cried as they fell to the ground, the fat boy on top. Paul walked over to them and placed his foot on top of the fat boy, an angry expression on his face.

"_Is that all?" _Paul sneered at them; the fat boy looked up at him, in horror.

"I-I'm outta here!" He cried as he picked the lanky boy overt his shoulders before running away like a baby. Paul smirked.

"_Ugh…" _The man who Paul ripped off Dawn groaned in pain as he tried getting up. Paul's head jerked up in fury as he whipped around at the man, cracking his knuckles.

"_Oh, I'm not done with __**you**__ yet." _Paul viciously snarled as he charged at him, fist first. He dove his fist into his gut, causing blood to cough out of the strange man's mouth.

"_**GACK!" **_He cried as he received the blow. Paul then grabbed his left shoulder, and hurled him to the ground! Once he was on the ground, Paul placed his foot against his neck, pressing down.

Paul narrowed his eyes as he stared down at the now beat up man. He wanted to beat him to a pulp! He wanted to kill him on this very spot! But…

Paul then thought of Dawn, her happy face.

'_She wouldn't want that…' _

He cursed under his breath as he released his footing.

"_Leave, and I don't let me see your face around this area again_." Paul growled towards the boy, who scampered to his feet, nodding.

"_MOMMY_!!" He cried as he rushed out of the area like a bullet, Paul sweat-dropped.

Paul watched until he was completely out of sight. He looked down at his hands; they were bruised for hitting them too hard…

"Mmff…" Paul heard a small cry. He quickly turned around to see Dawn there against the wall, eyes still closed.

He quickly rushed towards her, and knelt down before her. He pushed back some hair that was hanging in her face and tucked in behind her ear. She looked so sad…

"Dawn…wake up!" Paul said as he shook her shoulders, however, Dawn slumped forward, right into Paul's arms! Paul's eyes widened.

"Is…it over?" Dawn murmured into Paul's shoulder, Paul frowned. He continued to hold her.

"Dummy," He laughed weakly, "Nothing even happened."

Dawn moved back a bit and looked up at Paul, her face tear-streaked. She gasped as she quickly released herself from his grasp and stood up, shaking.

'_I-I can't face him now! Not after this…Not after-_"

"_**I DON'T EVEN THINK I LOVE YOU ANYMORE!!"**__Dawn painfully spat as many tears spilled from her face._

'_Not after…I broke his heat so…' _Dawn cried as she tried to run away.

'Wait!' Paul cried out as reached for her wrist. He grasped it but Dawn still tried to break free, but his grasp was firm.

"L-Let me go!" Dawn cried as she turned to face him, crying.

"No." Paul said.

Dawn didn't understand. Why was he doing this to her?! Why does he keep playing with her heart!

Dawn ripped her wrist out of Paul's grasp and took a few steps back. She looked down and noticed how one of her straps came undone; she was quick to tie them back together. She then looked at the ground, ashamed.

"W-Why…" Dawn stuttered, Paul took a few steps closer to her. "Why did you…protect me?" Dawn murmured as she hugged herself, her eyes still to the ground.

Paul took a lock of Dawn's hair into his hand, causing Dawn to look up at him. A look of surprise was on her face!

"Because…I promised you. I'll always protect you no matter what. " Paul said as he stared into her eyes, Dawn gasped! Her heart rate sped up, her cheeks turning a light pink.

'_Did he just say…?' _

For a few moments, she believed him until…

_**SLAP! **_

Dawn's hand whipped across Paul's cheek as she took a step back, her angry tearful eyes unbelieving.

"T-That's full of shit and you know it!" She cried as she took a few more steps back. Paul remained still, his eyes weren't angry; he wasn't even shocked at all…

He deserved that, he really did.

"_YOU HONESTLY EXPECT ME TO BELIEVE THAT?! AFTER ALL YOU PUT ME THROUGH?!" _She cried as she clutched her now ruined dress, Paul took the words like a blow in the stomach.

They hurt him so bad…

He just stood there, waiting.

"I-I thank you for saving me," Dawn began, "B-but please…_please_…" She wept, her eyes closed.

Paul couldn't take this anymore. As Dawn said those words, he closely approached her. When he got to her, Dawn didn't notice. Slowly, he lifted her chin up once more and…

"_Please…" _Dawn murmured as he did so, Paul didn't stop though.

Slowly, yet softly, he brushed his lips against hers before landing them gently on top of her lips.

And for a few moments, Dawn kissed back…

She savored the moment, the warmth of his lips, the way he held her…

'_Paul…is kissing me…' _She thought in disbelief, her heart jumping a mile a second.

But then…

She remembered the scorn he used to give her, the pain he has caused, the tears she had shed!

Then she remembered the talent show…

Dawn all of a sudden broke the kiss and ran away a few feet away from him, scared.

"Dawn?" Paul asked, confused.

"S-Stay away from me!" Dawn shouted towards him, her legs shaking. Paul clenched his teeth.

Why did she have the make this so _hard and painful_?!

"You-You…" Dawn began as she recalled her talent show performance,

"_Y_-_YOU'RE ONLY AFTER ONE THING!" _

Paul was taken back, extremely hurt!

"You know I would never do that…" Paul said softly, full understanding what Dawn meant.

"T-That's the thing Paul! _**I DON'T KNOW YOU ANYMORE!"**_Dawn cried as she put her hands over her heart, as if she was trying to keep it together. Her own words made her cry even more!

It was true…no matter how much she wanted to deny it…she didn't know him…_like she used to…_

Paul was taken back, he clenched his fist.

"You…don't understand." He began, his voice frustrated.

"Oh, I understand everything! Y-You really don't care about me!" Dawn quickly lashed back, tears falling from her eyes.

"_DAMNIT DAWN! I GAVE UP EVERYTHING FOR YOU!" _Paul suddenly screamed, Dawn's eyes widened!

Lightening crashed as the rain poured down heavily on both of them. Dawn stared at Paul, her eyes disbelieving.

"W-What…are you talking about?" She stuttered as she looked at Paul, who was looking at the ground in shame.

"I guess…it's time to tell you…" Paul began; Dawn's heart raced!

"Why…I acted the way I did…"

* * *

The rain poured down hard on Dawn and Paul, showing no signs that it would give up.

Dawn felt herself shiver from the cold winds that blew.

She stared intently at Paul, '_T-There was a reason…?'_ Dawn thought confused.

"You know…how my father owned this major cooperation?" Paul began, Dawn nodded.

"Starlight Records," Dawn murmured.

Paul's father was the head of a major recording company. That's how Paul grew to love music, and…that's why Dawn wanted to be such a wonderful singer.

She thought it would make Paul happy…

Though Dawn never understood why Paul lived in such small town because of their wealth, with the money they had, they could have bought a huge estate and still manage to live comfortably…

Why he suddenly moved though …Dawn never understood…

"One day, we weren't doing too well. The business wasn't doing too well…" Paul continued with his story, struggling on what to say.

He never really spoke of this to anyone…

"S-So you moved because of that?" Dawn asked, Paul shook his head 'no'.

"My father…he was so used to the lifestyle that we had. He couldn't deal with the low-incomes we were receiving, so he started making plans."

"Plans?" Dawn once again questioned, Paul looked at her.

"Let me finish."

"S-Sorry."

Paul narrowed his eyes, his fists into tight balls. A sudden memory came flooding back to him.

* * *

"_You didn't even bother telling her, why?" Reiji stated as he drove the BMW down the road._

"_Tell who what?" Paul asked as he lifted his head off his hand that was leaning against the passenger window. _

"_Dawn…just about a half hour ago…she just found out today?" Reiji raised an eyebrow, Paul looked out the window, placing his chin back on his hand._

"_So?"_

"_So? Why didn't you tell her a while ago that we were leaving?" Reiji pressed on as he drove the car down the nearby streets, "Did you seriously think she'll take it well if you waited until the last minute? Like you just did?" _

_Paul scowled. "If I would have told her then, she would have acted that way the whole past few weeks. You don't know Dawn, she always asks questions…" _

_There was a long silence. _

"_Does she know about…?" He asked, Paul shook his head. _

"_No, she has no idea that we're moving because of Starlight's failure." _

"_Paul…" Reiji began, "That's not why __**we're**__ moving." Did his little brother not know the truth? _

"_What do you mean?!" Paul snapped as he looked towards Reiji, whose hands were gripped tight on the steering wheel. _

"_Father…didn't tell you yet…didn't he?" Reiji stated, his eyes sad. _

"…_What?" Paul asked, his eyes wide. _

* * *

"I…don't understand Paul." Dawn began, Paul fixated on his memories. Trying his best to remember them, the ones he wanted to forget…

"Neither did I." Paul said, he looked at Dawn and noticed that she was closer than she was before, but yet she still kept her distance.

The rain still poured so heavily…The playground seemed so eerie…

"Where Reiji drove me that day…that day we moved…wasn't to our new house…" Paul began.

"Then…" Dawn tried guessing but she couldn't, "W-Where would he take you?"

Paul hesitated for a moment.

"To Wave Records, Starlight Record's rival company."

* * *

"_What the hell are we doing here?" Paul asked as he slammed the passenger door closed, they were now in a city like area and Paul hated it. _

_He looked up at the tall skyscraper that Reiji parked in front of._

_It was almost identical to the one they had, except it had the logo '__**Wave Records**__' post up on the front in a tidal wave font._

"_Never mind, let's just go inside.' Reiji said as he put his hands in his pockets, walking inside. Paul had no other choice but to enter as well. _

_Once they went inside, the walked into the lobby. Receptionist typed away at their highly advanced computers while dozens of people waited in the lobby, reading various music magazines. Paul looked around in awe._

_It looked __**way **__more advanced than Starlight Records. No wonder they were doing so poorly._

"_Paul, this way." Reiji instructed, snapping Paul back to reality. They both approached the main desk where Reiji both signed in for him and for Paul. The receptionist nodded._

"_This way." Reiji said as they headed towards the elevator. _

_Once inside the elevator, Reiji pushed the the floor number that they wanted to head to: 135_

"_The top floor?" Paul raised an eyebrow, Reiji shrugged. _

"_You'll see…" His voice was almost sorry, Paul was so confused!_

_There was a long silence as the elevator moved up, passing all the floors beneath it. The only thing that broke the silence was the newest record that the company produced playing over inside the elevator._

_**DING!**_

_With what seemed like forever, the elevator opened and Reiji walked out, his head down. Paul, still confused, followed. _

_They walked into a large room, an office._

_The office was very classy, yet modern. Paul and Reiji both walked along the dark royal blue carpet, and yet Paul could not help notice the walls, a very clear white. Candles hung off the walls, burning brightly and flowers were everywhere. Portraits of boats and beaches hung on every wall, except the far back wall, which wasn't even a wall at all, just an entire glass window to look out from. _

_Right in front of the window/wall was a huge marble desk where two men, wearing business suits, stood over, negotiating. _

_Reiji coughed as a sign that he and Paul where here, both men looked up. Paul recognized one of these men, the one wearing the sharp business suit, purple hair that was neatly tied back in a short ponytail, coal black eyes…_

_His Father. _

"_Ah, my sons." He reached both him arms to his sons, not as an invite to for an embrace, but as an expression. _

"_Welcome, we have been expecting you, especially you Paul." He addressed Paul, who just shrugged. _

"_So this is the lad I've been hearing about, Mr. Shinji has told me so much." The other man said with delight. He wore a grey business suit, crisp blonde hair, stunning blue eyes, and thin reading glasses over his nose. Apparently since in his hands he held documents of some sort. _

"_Um," Paul began._

"_Oh, please excuse my poor manners. I'm Mr. Tanaka, head owner of Wave Records." He introduced as he shook Paul's hand. Paul shook back, caring less. _

"_Your father is a great business partner." Mr. Tanaka said as he sat back down in his leather chair, Shinji raised his eyebrows._

"_Business…partner…?" Shinji repeated the words to himself while looking towards his father, who smirked. _

"_Since Starlight isn't doing so well on its own, I approached Mr. Tanaka with an offer he couldn't refuse." Paul's father grinned as he sat down on a small leather chair that was seated before the marble desk._

"_And he was right, I couldn't." Mr. Tanaka smiled. _

_Paul stared at both of them. What exactly did his father have to offer? The cooperation was running low on money, artists refused to sign, and not even a record they produced went platinum in months!_

_**What could he offer?! **_

"_I don't get it…" Paul said as he sat on another leather chair, Reiji kept his head down as he stood. _

_There was a long silence until Paul's father took a deep breath. _

"_We are…combining the companies. Starlight and Wave Records will become one." He finally said._

_Paul paused for a few moments, taking in what his father just said. When it finally dawned on him, he angrily stood from his chair._

"_A-Are you mad?! How could you give up everything that we worked so hard for?! How can you let the artists down, the whole company down?! Doesn't that mean anything to you?! Besides, we don't have the money to combine the companies! We would have to pay a fortune just to combine! That's not even mentioning transferring all the artist's labels over! How could you?!" Paul raged on as he stood there in anger, his father waited patiently for his son's tirade to be over, he really didn't seem concerned at all! _

"_Sit down Paul." He said sternly. Paul glared at him before doing so, his eyes still furious. _

"_We are not joining the companies through business." His father said as he took a sip out of his coffee, Paul stared queerly at him. Paul's father placed his mug down on a small table next to him before continuing._

"_We are combining the companies through marriage." He finished. Mr. Tanaka nodded as he said this, Reiji still kept his head down. _

"_By…marriage?" Paul asked, bewildered. "But," _

"_Mr. Tanaka is very old-fashioned and would prefer a male heir to take over his record company. He has a daughter, her name is Nina. She's quite the lady in training actually." Paul's father smirked._

"_Yes, but her attitude could be quite the opposite." Mr. Tanaka said, both gentlemen laughed at the remark. _

_Paul was still in the fog…_

"_My family is very traditional." Mr. Tanaka explained to Paul, "All of our marriages were arranged by our parents, and since I'm quite traditional, I decided to continue the chain. The Shinji family is a very fine family, an excellent addition to the Tanaka family indeed." _

"_Why are you telling me this? Shouldn't you be telling to Reiji?" Paul said as he looked towards his brother, his brother looked up, his eyes sad. _

"_Reiji…" Paul said. So that was it. They arranged his brother in an arranged marriage that he did not want to take part with, just when he thought his father couldn't get any worse…_

_Using his own family for business…_

"_Reiji is far too old for Mr. Tanaka's daughter…" Paul's father began, Paul whipped his head around. _

"_Yes, Nina wouldn't like be married to someone about 6 or 7 years older than her." Mr. Tanaka said, "No offense, Reiji." He mentioned towards Reiji._

"_None taken." Reiji replied, his voice like a drone. _

"_Then if Reiji isn't…than who is…?" Paul questioned, still not getting it. Mr. Tanaka and his father both just stared at him, suddenly, Paul's eyes widened._

"_No…" Was all he could say as he shook his head._

"_Yes my son, you and Mr. Tanaka's daughter are to be married as soon as you reach the age if 17. Then Starlight and Wave Records will have no choice but to combine, without paying such a hefty fee." His father spoke grimly. "It is quite the match made in heaven. Both personalities and business." He laughed._

_Paul was too shocked to speak. He had…a fiancée? He once more looked at Reiji, now he suddenly knew why Reiji was acting so glum. _

_He wasn't acting upset because of the business…he was feeling sorry for his brother!_

"_Reiji, did you…know about this?" Paul asked as stood up from his chair._

_Reiji slowly nodded, "I wasn't able to tell you. Father wanted us to wait until now…" _

_Paul looked at his brother in disbelief. He was the only one, if anyone, in his family who he could really trust! And now?! _

"_But what if I don't want to go through with it?!" Paul suddenly spat towards his father, his fist into tight balls._

"_If you don't, then your send Starlight into its grave. Mr. Tanaka won't sign unless a marriage is promised, and without Wave Records, we will surely go bankrupt." _

"_But-!" Paul clenched his teeth. _

"_**Then, t-that means we're e-engaged!" Dawn thought aloud as she came to realization.**_

"_**As long as you keep that necklace, then yeah, I guess." He said with a smile as he rolled his eyes. Okay, so Paul wasn't exactly planning on having this mushy conversation with Dawn right now.**_

"_Sit down Paul, you have the choice. You can not cooperate and send Starlight to bankruptcy or go through with this and be done with it." His father scolded. Paul sat back down on the chair in disbelief, putting his head in his hands._

_What could he do? _

"_Here is a picture of my daughter Nina; she's ten, just like you." Mr. Tanaka smiled as he handed Paul a small photo from his wallet. Paul took it and looked at the person._

_There stood a girl, ten years old, smiling. She had long beautiful straight golden locks and her ice blue eyes pierced the camera. Her dress was in the style of a __**Sweet Lolita. **__The dress was colored in pastel blue, with the showing of a white bloomer sticking out from underneath. The frilly blue bodice of the dress has off the shoulder frilly sleeves and pink satin ribbons etched across her chest area, flowing off into the breeze. The bottom portion of the dress was short in the front but billowed out into the back with extra volume, touching the ground. She wore white sheer knee socks and white Mary Jane Lolita shoes. Her white laced glove fingers held a pastel blue laced umbrella that she held so ladylike behind her._

"_So, when do the two lovebirds get to meet?" Mr. Tanaka teased. _

"_How about this weekend, I'm sure Nina would be thrilled." The two men kept chattering on and on. _

_Paul stared at the photo, unsure what to think. _

_How could he get mixed up in this? Why him?! Why?! _

_He looked at this girl who was now his supposed "fiancée", how he hated that word, and could only think of one thing. __**Or person. **_

"_**HeeHee Paul!" **__Dawn's childish voice echoed through his head. _

"_**Remember," Paul whispered to her softly as he pointed to the necklace, "As long as I'm here and as long as you want it, I'll forever keep that promise." Paul reassured her, referring to his and Dawn's engagement.**_

_Paul secretly clenched his teeth, trying his best for tears not to shine through. _

'_**Dawn…' **_

'_**I'm sorry…but I can't…'**_

* * *

Dawn's heart shattered, her face paler than ever before! She stared at Paul in disbelief, who looked at the ground, ashamed.

"Y-You…already have a fiancée?" Dawn stuttered, tears spilling out from her eyes. Then why would he get her hopes up?!

_Why did he kiss her then?! _

Paul once more shook his head, "No, Let me finish Dawn."

Dawn's heart stopped pounding so hard when he said "_no" _but with what she heard, Dawn now had no idea what to expect…

"You don't know…how _annoying she was." _Paul said as he puta hand to his forehead, "She'd always follow me around, calling me nauseating nicknames, and she always told me what to do and what not to, especially when we ate."

Dawn nervously laughed, "Well, you did have bad manners Paul." She giggled weakly.

"So," He weakly laughed too, "It shouldn't matter what fork you use to eat what…"

There was a long painful silence, the only sound of the rain pouring hard on both of them…

"For four years I had to put up with that Dawn, four long years! And whenever I tried rebelling, my father would always scorn me, always putting the sake of the company against my back." Paul cringed. "But it was so hard…"

He looked up at Dawn, and once more, he found that she had inched a little bit closer to him.

"She reminded me so much…_of you." _He finally said, Dawn gasped quietly to herself!

"She would always fuss about the littlest things like you did, she would cry _a lot_, and she would cling to me for dear life whenever she got scared. Exactly how you would. It just made _it harder_."

"The letters you sent me made it worse, it was so hard to _lie."_

"Y-You lied? In the letters?" Dawn asked, Paul nodded.

"Only some things, just about everything that covered what were going on with my life…"

Dawn slowly shook her head in disbelief, all these years…she thought she had known…

"I had no doubt in my mind that I couldn't go through with it, especially that one day…that one day when I couldn't take it anymore!"

_A fourteen year old Paul sat there, minding his own business, watching TV at home. He hated his new house, it was too big, too ornate. He preferred his old home, much simpler, closer to…_

_Paul shook his head to knock out the thought of his childhood friend. If he thought about her…who knows what guilt he'll feel…_

_Few and Few letters from her were being sent to him, and Paul knew why. He didn't have much time to write back, not with all the crap that Nina was putting him through! He didn't have the time!_

_He sighed while he reached from the remote, but suddenly, he heard the most painful thing ever, screaming into his year._

"_Paulie!" A shrill cry screamed in his ear. Paul jumped off the couch instantly and turned around, to see no other than Nina sitting right there, smiling giddily with a jewelry bag in her hands! Her long blonde hair reached all the way down to her back, and today she just wore a simple yellow sundress. _

"_God…" Paul said as he caught his breath. He suddenly remembered another reason why he hated his new home. __**She lived right next door!**_

"_Sweetie, look what I bought at the jeweler! I think it'd be perfect for our wedding!" She dug through her bag with delight, searching for the said item. Paul rolled his eyes. He just wanted to-_

"_See? Isn't it beautiful?" She giggled as she held out a piece of jewelry._

_A necklace. _

_Paul's eyes widened!_

_In her porcelain skin hands was a painfully familiar necklace. Tight silver chain, bright silver heart…pink diamond…_

"_Doesn't it look-" Nina began but Paul snapped back._

"_No it doesn't! It's the most hideous thing I've ever seen!" He lashed at her as he charged up the steps to his room. _

"_Paul! What's your issue?!" Nina shouted back up the steps, holding the necklace still in her hands. _

_However, Paul was still charging up the steps, slamming the door closed to his room. Once inside, he waited for Nina to leave. _

_Paul slammed a fist into his wall, he held it here for a minute before almost breaking down. _

"_Dawn…" Paul murmured…_

_He released his fist suddenly and grabbed his coat. _

_He was going to have a chat with his father._

* * *

"_What do you mean your not going through with the engagement?!" His father screamed as he banged his hands on top of his desk, furiously standing up. Paul confronted his father in his office and decided enough was enough!_

"_You heard me! I refuse to be your simple pawn for your own greedy desires!" Paul shouted back._

_His father cursed under his breath, "You're making a big mistake, my son. You have no idea." _

_Paul smirked, he honestly didn't care._

_Paul's father settled back down in his chair, smirking as well. "Did I tell you that when Mr. Tanaka retires, than you'll be the first heir to Wave Records? This means both Starlight and Wave records would be yours. Isn't that what you always wanted?" His father grinned, surely this information would lure his son back in._

_Paul was taken back! He…was going to be the heir of one of the most successful recording companies in the business?! _

_Paul looked at the smug smile on his father face, the look of temptation and success. _

_Paul furrowed his brow, then laughed bitterly._

"_Isn't that a pity? Since Reiji and I already made plans to move back to our old house." He bitterly laughed, obviously not caring on what his father just said. _

_Paul's father's eyes widened. _

"_**THEN GET OUT!!" **__He snarled in anger as he pointed towards the door, Paul grabbed his coat and smiled victoriously. _

_He slammed the door hard as he left, cherishing the sweet sound it made._

'_**Hold on Dawn…I'm coming…'**_

* * *

Dawn was speechless, _Pau__**l**_ had come back for her?! _He gave everything up for her?!_

But…

"_**No! Paul!" Dawn shouted as she lunged after him, arm out, tears in her eyes. She grasped his arm, and caught hold on him. He gave her an angry glare as he shoved her off, causing Dawn to fall to the ground in pain.**_

"_S-STOP LYING! YOU WOULD NEVER HAVE DONE THAT FOR ME!" _Dawn cried, Paul gave her a hurtful look.

"Y-You hurt me! You pushed me!" She continued to cry. "_Why…" _

"Cause…I thought you hated me…" Paul said, hurt.

Dawn snapped her head back up, "_W-W-What?"_

'When I came back, Reiji was the only one who came back with me. My father wouldn't even speak to me. I didn't care, I was so restless to see you, but then…" Paul paused, Dawn looked at him, anxious to hear more.

"When the moving vans were putting the few belongings we could bring back in our old home, I got a glimpse of you, with your friends…" Paul began, "You looked so happy, so carefree, and I heard them teasing you about some guys that I remembered from our class, how you turned red…It was if you didn't need me anymore…"

"B-But I do need you!!" Dawn called out, but right that, she slapped her hand over her mouth, realizing what she just said!

She slowly removed her hand and continued as Paul looked at her, waiting for more. "There wasn't a day…that I didn't think about you…" She murmured, and that was it. Paul waited to hear more but when she didn't say anything else, he continued.

"That first day when I returned back to school, I didn't know how much of a commotion I would cause. _And then…_you showed…" Paul said, Dawn's heart raced!

"_**I-I missed you so much!" Dawn said, as she saw his eyes flicker into an angry glare. She didn't know how to react, what was WRONG with him?!**_

"The way you hugged me, the way you said you missed me…It made me so confused. I kept recalling how happy you looked with your friends…I was so angry."

"A-Angry?" Dawn stuttered.

"I was convinced that you were just putting on an act, there was no way that you really missed me. It started making sense, the fewer letters that I have been receiving… I came to the conclusion that you moved on…." Paul said as he made his eyes softer. "And then my father began to cut off all financial ties to us, Reiji was the only one supporting me…"

"My anger grew and I was foolish to blame it all on you. I really grew to hate you…"

Dawn's heart sank. '_So he really did hate me…'_

But then, Dawn recalled his words.

"_I was convinced that you were just putting on an act,"_

"_Paul…" _Dawn began, Paul looked at her intently.

"Y-You thought that that was an act?! PAUL! Those smiles, that happiness…_**THAT WAS THE ACT!!" **_She cried, Paul's eyes widened!

"You don't know how much I cried for you, every night…" She went on, " the only reason I stopped mailing letters was because you didn't write back much, _I couldn't deal with the pain of waiting!" _She cried.

"And when you returned…The pain knowing that you hated me, that had hurt so much more than the bruises for when I had fallen…" She continued to cry.

Silence….

The rain seemed to pour harder than before, but yet the lightening and thunder seemed to finally rest.

Paul noticed how Dawn just held herself, crying to herself. He noticed how much she was in pain, his heart skipped a few beats as he continued…

It was Now or Never!

"But…as the years passed…" Paul spoke up, Dawn looked up from her crying.

"I began to forget why I hated you so much…my love kept overcoming the hatred. And it was not only too recently that I realized that…" Paul stared softly at her, Dawn's heart raced!

"And when I found that you still held on to that necklace, I was so mad at myself for making such a huge mistake. I was then that I realized that I truly love you." Paul said.

Dawn's mind froze on his words, _" I Truly Love You…"_ That was all she could hear…

"But I wouldn't allow myself to be with you, I couldn't be with you. I was such a horrible person for breaking your heart, and I promised you that I would protect you .Even if it was from myself…" He murmured, Dawn looked at him, her eyes still finally understanding.

"But it was so hard…I yearned for the softness of your hands, the sweetness of your breath, the way you would always giggle my name…"

"_I just…" _Paul began to tear up as he closed his eyes but the sweetest sensation stopped him. Lips brushed against his ever so slightly, he opened his eyes to see Dawn standing right there in front of him!

She took his hand and placed it against her cheek, "I'm sorry…I'm so sorry…it was my entire fault…" She whispered.

"No Dawn, _I'm sorry." _Paul whispered back, Dawn looked up at him with hopeful eyes.

"You said you loved me, do you still love me?" She asked, a small hint of desperation in her voice, Paul smiled slightly.

"I love you." He murmured into her ear. As he shifted back, Dawn murmured these soft words into his ear.

"I love you…"

Paul smiled at her, and dug into his now soaked pocket, he held out the broken necklace and held it before Dawn.

"Do you…still want it?" He asked, the rain poured harder than before on both of them but neither seemed to mind now at all.

Dawn gently took the necklace from his hands and looked at Paul deeply into his eyes.

Dawn gently shook her head.

"_I want you…" _She whispered as she wrapped her hands around his neck, pulling him in for a kiss. Her lips came onto his and Paul kissed back as he pulled her close.

For once, Dawn's heart didn't beat fast at all, but yet a steady rhythm with Paul's…

She gently pulled back from the kiss but Paul then kissed her lips gently once more, then again…then finally taking her in for another deep kiss.

Dawn closed her eyes, cherishing the moment…

That night she didn't get Revenge at all…

In fact, she got something Much Much Sweeter…

* * *

Oh My Gosh! ( Pops party poppers!) Yes! That was it! Paul and Dawn finally got together! Whooooo!! Kya! So romantic…in the rain!

Was Paul OOC? I hope not…well he needs to be OOC sometimes! It's healthy!

So yeah, now you know why Paul acted the way he did. I hope that was a good enough reason, I was getting so worked up cause I couldn't really find a good reason that I thought would be fit. I really want to thank my cousin though for giving me the idea for the engagement thing, I just hope that I didn't make it to angsty. And yup, those mean bullies from the sandbox, were the three creeps! It makes me kinda glad that Paul saved Dawn (smiles).

(Sniff!) WAHHH!! It's over! Wait, oh wait, ha-ha…there's the epilogue…but still, (sniff!)

THERE IS GOING TO BE A SEQUEL! I know cause I already have parts in my head but don't expect it up anytime soon, I want to get through my other fics first XD. besides, I know it won't even come close to being as good as the original, nothing can replace a original.

But yeah, does an epilogue count as a chapter? Well, I'm counting this as the last chapter since the epilogue will only be what, 5 pages? Tops?

Once again, I couldn't have done this without all your encouragement and reviews, they all really make me happy!

Until next time ;) !


	10. Epilogue: A Resolution

_**HAPPY IKARISHIPPING DAY EVERYONE!!**_

Epilogue time! Epilogue time! Wee!! I'm so excited to post this up! Yay! It's just so hard for me to believe that this story is going to be over soon, how many months has it been? Oh well, I'm too lazy to check but I know it has been a while!

Most of you have been asking last chapter, where was the poke contest old rival goodness? Well don't worry; it's going to be in here.

Ah…I'm going to miss this story, I like stuff with angst XD But only if they have happy endings! I don't like sad endings! (pouts)

_**I DO NOT OWN POKEMON, ITS CHARCTERS, OR THE SONGS USED. **_

You think we would have all known that by now (sweat-drops)

* * *

"Epilogue: A Resolution"

_Bright Blue Skies…_

_Birds singing swiftly throughout the trees…_

_A flower's first bloom…_

_The lazy wind kissing the earth…._

All these things Misty Waterflower admired as she walked to school, alone. The wind tugged on her hair softly, causing her shoulder-length hair to drift slightly with the breeze.

It was a beautiful day-

She pushed back a lock of her hair behind her ear, and as she did, she paused, her gaze lost in the ground before her.

-but the atmosphere was _not_ how it should be.

A lost and unbelieving gaze…

It was the first Monday since the Talent Show, and no one has heard from Dawn _or_ Paul.

Misty tried calling dozens of times over the weekend, but all she received was Dawn's voicemail, her happy voice telling her to leave a message. And when she really was desperate, she called her home phone, where her mother would sometimes answer, but yet Dawn not there…

Misty sighed reluctantly as she pulled her cell phone out of her school bag, checking her inbox. There laid the sad hundred messages from her friends, asking if they heard anything from Dawn. It was unfortunate; it was like Dawn vanished completely…

"It's all our fault…" Misty reluctantly said to herself as she stared at her phone, tear droplets just appearing on the corner of her eyes, "If we didn't come up with that foolish idea for the talent show, if my sisters didn't make it so elaborate, if we never set you up…."

"_I-I HATE ALL OF YOU! A-ALL YOU DO IS HURT ME!!" __Dawn screamed._

"But you were so happy…" Misty murmured, a tear drifted off her cheek. Immediately realizing her actions, Misty shook her head hard, shaking out all the tears.

Mindlessly, she kept on walking; she would be late for school if she just stood there all day moping.

'_Dawn will surely be in school today though, maybe then we could all just sit down and settle things.' _Misty hoped as she kept on walking, yet for a moment she did not believe her own thought, there was no possible way…

Pretty soon, the high school came into view. As she came around the corner, she notice that dozens of students were huddled right out in front of the main entrance, in the school's courtyard; Misty cocked her head to the side, confused.

Why were there people in the courtyard? She looked at the time on her phone and sweat-dropped.

She was a half an hour early and the doors haven't opened yet.

"I feel like an idiot…" She mumbled as put her phone back in her bag, but as she did, a familiar voice cut her off.

"Mist!!" The voice cried out, Misty looked up from her bag to see no other than Ash run towards her!

"Oh, hey Ash." She blinked, still caught off guard, yet relieved that she didn't have to wait for the school to open alone. "Why are you so early?"

"I don't know, I guess I was anxious to come to school." He shrugged, giving his boyish grin.

"You? _Anxious to come to school?"_ Misty snorted, trying her best not to fall over laughing.

"Well, you're here early too. So don't be judging." Ash teased back, Misty rolled her eyes. They both kept a steady pace with each other as they began to walk, Ash leading.

"Misty-!" Ash eyes widened as he stared her suddenly, breaking the silence, pointing at her.

"W-What?!" She worried as she looked down at her uniform; alarmed that maybe a there was some malfunction. A Stain? _A Hole?! _

In the midst of Misty's panic, Ash sighed as he took a lock of her hair in his hands. Misty looked up, her face pink, her heart racing!

"Your hair is down today, I like it." He smiled as he let go, Misty heart rate increased!

"Then I'll wear it down more often!" Misty said out loud, but she immediately slapped a hand over her mouth.

She just said what?!

'_Oh God, Why don't I just blurt out my feelings?!' _Misty cursed to herself.

Ash looked at her densely before smiling "Okay."

Misty blinked before giving out a sigh of relief; Ash was still as dense as ever!

They both continued walking.

"Oh by the way, Congratulations on your win, Misty!" Ash congratulated as he put his arms over his head, walking. Misty turned a dark crimson. Suddenly, she just remembered the Talent Show…

"Um yeah, Erm, thanks." She hesitated, turning a light pink, looking the other way.

'_God, this is more embarrassing than I thought!'_ Misty realized in shock as she got glimpse of many students staring at her, probably thinking of their performance.

"I didn't know you wanted to impress me." Ash laughed breezily, breaking Misty from her thoughts.

"Yeah well-_WAIT! WHAT?!"_ Misty began automatically, but once her mind processed what Ash just said, her race turned a bright red as she faced him!

"No I didn't-!" She tried covering as she stared at his cute boyish face but Ash smiled.

"Relax; your sisters told me after you left, when they were packing up all the stuff."

"Those little-" Misty muttered under her breath as one of her fists turned into a tight ball, a vein popping out of her head.

"It kinda made me happy." Ash spoke, Misty looked up from her curse that she was going to plant on her sisters and stared at Ash, her eyes wide.

"W-What…?' Misty said, her heart racing.

Ash turned to her, smiling, "I was thinking maybe we could go out."

Misty stared at him for five bleak seconds….

"But _we're already outside." _She cringed.

Ash blinked at her, like it was basic math. "No Mist, I mean like a date."

'_A…date?' _She processed the words in her head for a bit.

Silence.

"W-Well, if you don't want-" Ash began shakily but Misty was quick to cut him off!

"Yes!" She giggled as she threw her arms around him unexpectedly, "Yes! Yes! And Yes!"

"Well okay, if you insist." Ash laughed back as Misty held on to him tightly around the neck. "Um, Misty, I can't breathe."

Misty gasped slightly as she released Ash. She smoothed her skirt while looking to the ground, blushing slightly.

"Sorry." She laughed lightly as she kept her eyes on the ground.

"Ah, don't mention it. If it's you, then that's okay." Ash said as he put his arm around her shoulder, which caused Misty to look at him, smiling. Together they began to walk towards a group of three people sitting under a huge cherry blossom tree.

Misty gave out a sigh of relief, for the people under the tree were Zoey, May, and Drew!

"Hey guys!" She happily greeted as she sat down next to Ash under the cool shade.

"Hey Misty," Zoey greeted as she coolly rested her back against the tree, her arms crossed.

"Misty!" May giggled as she shoved her camcorder in her face.

"Eh…" Misty uneasily said, she looked to Zoey for answers. Zoey sighed, "She's been at it ever since everyone else got here, Let the girl have her fun."

"So Misty, When's the date?" May pressed on from behind her camcorder, Misty appeared, sweat-dropping on the film!

"H-How'd you?" Misty began,

"Zoom feature Mist, Zoom feature." May giggled,

_**WHOOSH! **_

May stuck her camcorder suddenly in Ash's face now!

"Tell me boy, we're you taking her? Hmm? Bowling? Movie? KYAH! Moonlit walk alongside the beach?!"

"Erm…" Ash stuttered, shocked as Misty was.

"God Maple, you're so persistent." Drew rolled his eyes from behind the noisy brunette. May harshly turned her camcorder on him. There Drew sat, his legs crossed, a smirk on his face.

"Drew…" May began, Drew stared at her, still smirking.

"_You thought I was sexy!"_ May sing-songed, suddenly appearing from behind Drew's back!

"W-What?!" Drew was quick to defend as he was caught off guard!

"_You got a stiffy!" _May continued to sing from behind her camcorder, focusing in on Drew's face. Apparently, she was singing about Friday night.

Drew blushed harder!

"Did not!" He shouted back.

"_You want to hug me, you want love me!" _She sung from all directions.

Drew couldn't take this anymore!

"_You want to kiss me-!" _May began to sing once more but a pair of lips caught hers, breaking her chant. The camcorder slipped out of her hands as Drew kissed her, lost in the moment, she kissed back.

Ash, Zoey, and Misty smirked. Slyly, Misty took the camcorder that May dropped and set it promptly in her hands.

Then…suddenly…

"_SO WHEN'S THE DATE?!" _All three asked as Misty snuck the camcorder right in between Drew and May, breaking the kiss!

The two blankly stared at the camera, completely embarrassed.

"_Eh…" _The both mumbled as Misty pressed the camera on.

"EW Drew! I can't believe you would do that!" May suddenly shouted as she turned the other way, crossing her arms.

"You think I enjoyed that?! I only did it for you to shut up!" Drew countered, doing the exact same thing May did but to the other side.

Both though were blushing _extremely _hard. Everyone smiled.

They weren't fooling anyone.

"Kiss her again!" An anonymous voice giggled from above, everyone looked up to see Leaf and Gary, dangling high above in the cherry blossom tree!

"L-Leaf? G-Gary?" Misty stuttered as she looked up at the display, sweat-dropping. So they were there the entire time…

Leaf sat on a branch, dangling her feet giddily while Gary sat high on the branch opposite of her, smirking.

"I mean, it's not like you don't talk about it at sleepovers May," Leaf continued to giggle.

"_WHAT?!"_ May blushed harder!

"C'mon, plant another one on her!" Gary shouted down towards Drew as he moved across the tree next to Leaf, "You've been dying to all this time!"

"Shut the hell up!" Drew lashed out towards him.

"Aw, don't you two be such babies! Because we know Drew likes May, and we know May likes Drew! Please, oh please! We already went through so much drama, don't stir up some more!" Leaf pleaded.

Drew and May both blinked at the same time before staring at each other, blushing slightly.

Slowly, they began to lean in towards each other…_slowly!_

"Aw, just do it!" Zoey cried out as she chucked a leaf at them, May grew annoyed. She suddenly grabbed Drew by the collar and kissed him full force!

"_WOOOO!"_ Everyone laughed as they broke, Drew blushing slightly.

"I um , wow May." Drew began, May laughed slightly.

"Looks like I learned a thing or two from the talent show!" She giggled to herself.

"Okay so, are you two…?" Misty asked as she waggled her finger back and forth between May and Drew.

"I don't know, are we?" May asked towards him, Drew rolled his eyes. He pulled her into his arms, staring at the rest.

"Yup." He blankly said as he held May in his arms, "Right girlfriend?" He looked down towards May, "R-Right!" She answered, looking up at him.

"Aw, that's so sweet!" Leaf giggled as she rocked back and forth on the branch.

"Yeah sure whatever," Gary said, he hopped down from the tree, landing swiftly on his feet! He brushed the dirt off his pants and dug his hands into his pockets, "Are you coming down too Leaf?" He looked up at the long-haired brunette, who smiled.

"Uh huh!"

It was easier said that done!

She pushed herself off the branch and fell down towards the Earth.

_UNGRACEFULLY!_

"L-Look out!" She cried as she fell, she closed her eyes for impact, ready to endure the hard land she would soon face.

_**THUD!**_

This was odd…

Leaf didn't feel any pain at all! She didn't feel the hard ground, in fact, she felt something soft!

"Ow…" She heard a small groan, she opened her eyes to see Gary, lying right under her!

"G-Gary!" She blushed, putting her hands to her face! She can't believe she has done this, _AGAIN!_

"A-Are you okay" As she got off of him, _on his side this time! _She knelt down next to him, her face worried.

"Y-Yeah." He winced as Leaf helped him to his feet. He smiled as he looked at her, "No panties this time, huh?" He joked, Leaf grew horrified!

"PERVERT!" She cried as she tried to slap him but he grabbed her arm, still smiling.

"Yes, but I'm _your _pervert." He smiled slyly as he pulled her in for a kiss, everyone was shocked to see Leaf kiss him back so calmly!

"Y-You guys too?!" Zoey asked as she looked at the pair. They both broke the kiss as they faced the group of confused teenagers.

"Didn't we tell you guys that we got together over the weekend?" Leaf asked blankly, everyone except the couple fell over anime style!

"No! No you did not!" Misty shrieked as she stood up.

"O-Oh…" Leaf laughed sheepishly, sweat-dropping.

"But when?! How?!" May asked as she pointed the camcorder at Gary and Leaf excitedly, who were still in their embrace.

"It kinda just happened. Leaf came over to my house asking about Paul and then suddenly, one thing lead to the next and well you know…" Gary trailed off, Leaf blushed slightly.

"Oh, _we all get it_." Ash smiled suggestively, Gary and Leaf blushed the darkest shade you could imagine!

"_IT WAS NOTHING LIKE THAT!" _They both screamed, "What kinda people do you think we are?!" Gary cried, as they both sat down next to May and Drew.

"Yeah! I'm not going to sleep with Gary the day right when we hook up!" Leaf added haughtily.

Awkward silence…

"Eh…" She stammered as Gary slyly looked up at her.

"You think about that?" Gary smirked, Leaf turned even redder!

"N-No!" She stammered.

She blushed as she looked the other way; Gary smiled as he kissed her on the cheek.

Yet there was still an awkward silence…

Zoey felt the tense silence as she spoke up, "So, setting that topic aside." She looked towards the two, who were looking the other way, still blushing. "Anyone hear from…well…you know…" She began.

Everyone lowered there heads, ashamed.

"Nope…there were no signs of them either…" Misty muttered as she looked around the courtyard, looking for _any_ signs of blue or purple.

"Do you think….maybe something happened…?" Leaf whispered, her face upset.

"Don't think such things!" May hissed, clearly upset as well. She looked around too; there was no sign on them…

Drew looked around as well, he scanned the area. All he could see was the large mass of students swarming in, he squinted his eyes as he looked closer,

"Ew, some couple is going at it under the oak tree." He narrowed his eyes, May slapped him!

"Drew! Don't be prying into a couple's business!" May scolded, Drew just rolled his eyes.

But then suddenly he noticed something about that couple!

_Purple…_

_**Blue…**_

Drew's eyes widened as he automatically stood up!

"S-Something wrong?" May asked as she joined him with her camcorder, Drew saw it and took it from her hands.

"Hey!" May shouted, "Hush!" He calmed her down as he held the camera up to his eye and pressing the zoom feature. He zoomed in across the giant courtyard and onto the great oak tree that two teenagers were standing under.

Soon, Drew burst out into hysterics! "No way, _NO FREAKING WAY_!" He laughed as he bent down towards his knees, catching his breath.

"What's so funny?" May asked as she snatched her camcorder back, looking directly where Drew pointed it at. She stared for about five seconds before smilingly widely,

"_KYAH!!"_ She cried out with joy as she jumped up and down, she was glad she pushed the record button.

"What is it May?" Leaf, Misty, and Zoey asked as they approached her, the brunette smirked as she showed the film she recorded.

"May I, May the greatest Director of all time, present you this!" She pushed the play button to show her friends, and once the film play, each face of theirs lit up immediately!

"Oh my god!" Misty screamed with delight.

"_Finally!!"_ Leaf squealed as she jumped up and down with Zoey, who was too excited.

"What's everyone making a big deal about?" Ash asked as he looked over the girl's shoulders, Gary as well looking over.

"Told you that it would end soon." Gary smiled.

"Dude…is that?!" Ash stammered as he began to laugh, everyone else nodded giddily!

He watched the recording and he couldn't believe what he saw!

Paul…and Dawn…_were kissing under the oak tree?!_

"Yup, it is! And this film will certainly help with my A+ in Film!" May cheered as she resumed filming the couple from under the tree.

"May! You can't put that in your video! It's a precious moment to them!" Zoey scolded as May zoomed in even more on the couple, Zoey sweat-dropped as May ignored her.

"MAY!" She screamed into her ear, May innocently looked up at her.

"But I'm doing them a favor! Trust me! When they get old, and after they make lots of babies, they're going to want to see their young love blossoming!" She explained, everyone else sighed.

May had a reason for _everything._

And it was hopeless to convince her otherwise.

May resumed top her filming, giggling. _"Dawn and Paul standing under a tree! K-I-S-S-I-N-G! First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes Dawn and Paul with the baby carriage!" _She chanted, she filmed as the two kissed.

But as she filmed the two broke the kiss and began walking towards their direction!

"Oh…crap! Everyone act normal, act like we don't know anything!" May panicked as she quickly turned her camcorder off, shoving it in her bag. Everyone rushed to find a causal position under the tree, and at the very last moment, they finally managed to all sit down in time before Dawn and Paul came!

"Hey guys!" Dawn happily greeted towards the group, they all looked towards her.

"Hey," They all acknowledged the group as they tilted their heads up towards Dawn, acting casual. _Too casual. _

"Eh…" Dawn flinched as she grew suspicious of her friends, Paul narrowed his eyes. Suddenly, he had the greatest idea.

He whispered something into Dawn's ear, who giggled. The group stared at them, their curiosity peaked.

"Um May, can I check your camcorder for a second," Dawn asked as she sat beside May, who shrieked.

"W-Why?!" May quickly defended, holding the camcorder for dear life. Dawn looked simply confused.

"I just want to show everyone the recording of us backstage…I want to reminisce." She innocently asked. May sweat-dropped!

"I…Oh! Erm…." May turned her camcorder on and quickly went through the history until she finally reached the recording that Dawn requested. She played it in front of her.

"Can I hold it? I can't hear it well." Dawn asked sweetly, May nervously looked towards everyone, who looked the other way.

Surely they didn't want to be a part of this!

May resentfully handed the camera to Dawn, who happily accepted. She stood up and walked towards Paul with the camcorder.

"H-Hey! Where you going with it?!" May shrilled with horror, if they see-!

"Relax May; the lighting is better over here." Dawn reassured. May gave out a small sigh of relief, as well as the others.

But then…

Dawn and Paul eyes both narrowed as they took control of the camcorder, going through its content!

"NO!! What are you doing!" May screamed as she stood up but she was too late!

To May's dread, Paul and Dawn found _that footage. _

There was a long silence…so silent that you could hear the audio of the video.

"_Dawn and Paul standing under a tree! K-I-S-S-I-N-G! First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes Dawn and Paul with the baby carriage!"_

Awkward silence….

May spoke up, "Well you see…" She tried reasoning, "IT WAS DREW! BUT THE BLAME ON DREW! HE SAW YOU GUYS FIRST!" She pointed her finger at her boyfriend, who fell over anime style.

"Nuh uh!" He countered, "You filmed them!"

"Uh huh!" She got right in his face, "You should have known it would have peaked my interest!

"No!"

"Yes!"

The two bickered back and forth, _back and forth!_

"God…" Paul muttered under his breath, Dawn seat-dropped as she nodded, agreeing with him.

"I guess some couples love to fight," Dawn mentioned, everyone stared at her, especially May and Drew.

"H-How you know…?" They stuttered, Dawn and Paul laughed.

"We don't need a camcorder to spy on people to find things out, we can just tell." Dawn smiled.

"So you know about…?" May pointed at her and Drew, Dawn and Paul nodded.

"And us?" Leaf asked as she referred to her and Gary.

"Girl, we've all known! Since like the last week at Art class!" Dawn pointed out, which cause everyone else to laugh.

"I know, seriously!" Misty giggled, Leaf' and Gary sweat-dropped.

"Well, I don't thin they know about us, right Mist?" Ash said towards Misty, who flinched.

"Well NOW THEY DO!!" Misty shouted as she pummeled Ash with her mallet.

"Ow!" Ash cried.

Dawn smiled at the scene; things seemed to be alright…

But then, everyone glared at Dawn and Paul!

"_NOW IT'S YOUR TURN TO EXPLAIN! FESS UP!!" _Her friends glowered towards Dawn, who was taken off guard!

"Um…" Dawn began, but more questions were pressed on her.

"_WHERE WERE YOU ON THE WEEKEND?! WHY DIDN'T YOU REPLY TO OUR MESSAGES?! WE WERE WORRIED SICK!!" _

Dawn sweat-dropped, "Um…if you let me explain…"

"_THEN EXPLAIN!!" _They yelled in a huff as they sat down, criss-crossing their legs in a pretzel style, awaiting for the reason.

Dawn gave out a sigh as she and Paul both sat down in front of them, ready to give it a go.

"You see, um…wow it's really quite hard explaining it, isn't it Paul?" Dawn said towards Paul, Paul shrugged.

"Okay well, Paul found me that Friday night and after we cleared out a few things…we decided that it was foolish of us to be like the way we did and right then and there we settled it." Dawn smiled as Paul took her hand in his, everyone just stared at them.

"But the weekend." Drew mentioned.

"Paul and I kept it on the low as we made up for lost time. Plus, we both had very bad colds." Dawn sweetly said.

'_Well of course we would have colds!' _Dawn giggled as she blushed, remembering how they stayed out in the rain.

"So that's it…no more drama, no more crying, nada?" Zoey asked, Dawn nodded.

"It's official," Paul stated bluntly, "Dawn's my girlfriend." He simply sat as he brought her close, everyone's face lit up!

"_NO WAY!!" _They all cried out with delight.

"I'm so happy for the both of you!" Leaf congratulated.

"We didn't have a doubt, not for a second!" Misty added.

Everyone carried on and on, Paul and Dawn sweat-dropped once more.

"You guys, you don't have to act like it's such a huge thing." Paul began, everyone stared at him.

"_BUT IT IS!" _They all shouted back towards him.

Paul sighed; this was exactly why he and Dawn took off on the weekend.

"But," Dawn began, "That only leaves one more person." She winked towards Zoey, who blinked, confused.

"That's right," May slyly said, "How are you and Kenny?"

"W-What?!" Zoey blushed, "What are you talking about?!"

"Well Zoey, it looks you're the only one without a significant other, which makes you the odd ball of the group." Leaf teased, Zoey glared her.

"I j-just don't wanna rush, that's all!" She crossed her arms in a huff.

"Well sometimes it's better to rip the band aid of quickly than slowly, Hey Kenny over here!" Gary called out towards Kenny, beckoning him to come over.

"YOU LITTLE-!" Zoey hissed towards Gary, ready to pounce but as soon as she tried, Kenny appeared!

"Hey guys, what's up?" He asked, Zoey right away put on a fake smile.

"Um, hi Kenny!" She grinned, everyone slapped their foreheads.

_**RING!! **_

"Talk about Saved by the Bell, huh Zoey?" Ash teased as he and Misty got up, Zoey shrieked!

"What does he mean?" Kenny asked,

"N-Nothing!" Zoey countered.

May and Drew snickered. "Well, we'll be late. We're heading in." The couple stood up, hand in hand, "See ya guys!" May winked towards them as they headed towards the school. If you looked closely, deep in the bushes, a group of Drew fan girls sulked.

"Yeah, we better go." Gary said as he and Leaf stood up. Everyone was getting ready to leave but Dawn and Paul.

"Are you guys coming?" Zoey asked.

"We'll be right in," Dawn said as she and Paul still stood under the cherry blossom tree.

Zoey stared at them, smiling before turning to head back with the others.

Paul and Dawn were all alone…

"Finally," Paul said as he brought Dawn in for a kiss. As they broke, Dawn smiled.

"What do you mean?" She asked.

"I don't know, I was just waiting to be alone with you." He smiled, Dawn blushed lightly. He inclined his head once more to kiss her, more passionately this time.

Dawn nearly fainted in his arms! Paul broke from the kiss, smirking.

"Y-You can at least warn me when you're going to do that!" Dawn panted from out of breath, a little bit woozy.

"But what's the fun of that?" Paul snickered, Dawn playfully hit him.

"W-Well, we're going to be late for class!" She fumbled as she headed towards the main entrance, but yet a hold of her arm held her back.

"Paul?" Dawn asked as she looked back to see Paul holding onto her arm.

"We're going to be late…" She murmured as Paul brought her into an embrace. Cherry blossoms scattered and danced across the breeze, whirling around the two.

"Let's get out of here." Paul simply said, Dawn gasped!

"B-But that's ditching Paul!" Dawn said as she looked up at him. Paul smiled back.

"We're already late, and we can still get away with our colds." He smiled at her.

"I don't know…" Dawn mumbled, she never ditched a day in her life.

Paul reached out his arms towards Dawn, waiting for her.

"You coming?" He asked, Dawn stared at his hand. Suddenly, she remembered _him_, how _she_ loved _him_, how much _he_ loved _her_, _**their **_new love…

'_I love you…'_

"Yes…" She smiled towards him, taking his hand. Paul smirked as he picked her up piggy back style, heading out of the school. Dawn nuzzled her head against his neck.

'_When I dared to touch, I felt you. When I dared to listen, I heard your voice. When I dared to see, I saw you. When I dared to have courage, you smiled. When I dared to cry, you wiped my tears. When I dared to run, you caught me. When I dared to love…' _

Dawn opened her eyes to see Paul looking up at her, smiling; Dawn smiled back as she kissed him lightly on the cheek.

"I love you…" Dawn murmured into his ear.

"I love you too…" Paul murmured back, picking up more speed as they left the school area.

'_When I dared to love…you loved me back…' _

'_I love you so much!' _

_**Lady Marmalade: Sweet Sweet Revenge- End?**_

* * *

It's finally over!! I'm so sad!! Well, I'm glad that I finished it on ikarishipping day though XD! Did you guys like that little poem at the end, I hope it was alright since I wrote it (sweat-drops) I hate my poetry but I think it's good.

Okay everyone, the other day I saw _**Titanic**_ again, yes I know it's sad! Oh, if you guys didn't know, the movie they were watching in the beginning was _**Titanic**_, a little bit of trivia for those who care. Okay anyway, I was watching it and then the part with the necklace came up and I was like OMG, it's almost like Dawn's necklace! I JUST REALIZED THAT NOW!! I didn't intentionally mean to do that, so please don't think I copied that (sweat-drops) But yeah, if it was pink instead of blue, but it's still kinda different because it's not a choker. And yup, I'm just babbling on, I'll shut up now.

But I saw Dawn's necklace in a mall department store window recently! I literally screamed! I wanted it so bad…but it was so expensive! XD

**Okay I want to thank a few people. **

I want to thank the readers who reviewed and kept this story going, seriously, you guys mean so much!

I want to acknowledge the readers who never reviewed; for you guys still made my day when I saw how many hits the story received XD.

_**StrawberryPavlova**_ and _**Suwamoto **_for making awesome fan arts for the story, you guys are so great! If there is anything I can do for you, just tell me!

I want to thank my cousin for always giving me her opinion on how the chapter went and telling me how I could make it better, thanks so much! If only though she would stop sneaking on and reading my rough drafts (glares)

And the song "Lady Marmalade"! It all started with this!

And to those I forgot, thank you so much!!

I honestly had no idea the story would end up like this. Can you remember back in the first chapter I was going to make this into a regular oneshot/songfic? Oh boy…

I was actually going to begin the story with the talent show, funny how things turned out eh?

And I'm going to say it again, HAPPY IKARISHIPPING DAY!

Thank you all so much for reading! And I hope at least half of you decided to read the sequel when it comes out XD. Yup you guess right, noticed how I put down End? With a question mark, cause it's still not completely over yet!

Now I'm off to finish a few things then back to A Precious Bond! Sakura is just _so_ adorable!

Until next time!


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